


Newcomer

by hello33willoTheWisp845



Series: Friendship, Love and Life [1]
Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Desire, F/F, Friendship, Fun, Love, Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-09
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2020-02-29 04:04:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 32,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18770815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hello33willoTheWisp845/pseuds/hello33willoTheWisp845
Summary: The Voyager gets a new roommate. She does not think of observing the rules of Starfleet. She has her own rules and also her own goals, which she persistently pursues. So she brings some momentum to the Voyager.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, I know that my translation contains some mistakes. But I still hope you can read my story and enjoy it. I would be glad to read your opinion.

"Captain, the sensors report a small spaceship in the immediate vicinity, it does not have a Starfleet signature, but a federation signature" Harry told the captain.

Captain Kathryn Janeway looked at Harry in surprise. "What else are the sensors reporting?" She asked curiously.

"We're still too far away for accurate data." Harry explained.

"Tom fly us closer to it." Kathryn instructed her pilot.

"Ay, Ma´am" said this conscientiously and gave a course of the small spaceship, which appeared a short time later in the window.

"What are the sensors indicating now?" She asked Harry.

"It seems dead in the room, just a sign of life." Reported Harry.

"Tuvok activate a tractor beam and sets up a security team for an outside mission." Kathryn told her security chief.

"Ay, Captain."

Tuvok immediately handed over another crewman to his station and set off with two other crewmembers from his security team to explore the spaceship.

*****************

"Captain?"

"Tuvok, report." Kathryn demanded immediately after Tuvok reported on the communications link.

"We found an injured female person and the spaceship not only seems to be dead in the room, it has to my understanding gone completely out."Tuvok reported.

"Well, beam the wounded woman straight to the infirmary and drop the spaceship into Hangar Deck 1." Kathryn busily ordered.

"Ay Captain."

Kathryn handed the bridge over to Chakotay and hurried to the turbolift and got herself transported to the infirmary, arrived there, she quickly stepped through the doors and looked around for the doctor.

"Report" she ordered immediately and went to the biobed, in front of which the doctor stood and examined the injured woman. Next to him was Seven, assisting him. Kathryn looked at her in surprise, wondering what Seven was doing in the infirmary. 

"She has a serious head injury, and she has several broken bones and abrasions. But all in all, I can heal them in a short time. Likewise, her body has some old scars. I am not sure if I should eliminate them with the skin generator." The doctor replied without looking up.

"Good, heal her. Leave the scars if they have not been removed yet, then they a her probably important to them." Kathryn ordered and looked at Seven. 

"Seven, what are you doing here?" She asked curiously.

"I was just here for my weekly investigation when the injured woman were beamed here. The doctor has not yet finished his examination, so I'm still here." Seven replied, putting her arms behind her back.

"Aha, I hope everything is okay with you?" Kathryn asked worriedly. Seven raised her eyebrow with the Okularimplant. "Yes, Captain." She answered then.

"Good." Kathryn gave Seven a friendly smile and patted her lightly on her shoulder.

"Doctor?" Kathryn asked.

"One moment, I'll have it soon." The doctor slid his skin generator over the injured skin, while the brain monitor was placed over the injured woman's head, healing the internal head injuries.

Seven looked at the injured woman with interest and found that the woman looked appealingly beautiful. She had long curly brown hair, a slender face and a slim physique. Her clothes looked interesting. A pair of pants with holes on the knees, a shirt and a leather jacket over it.

"Captain, the injuries are all healed, do you want me to wake them up?" The doctor asked.

"Yes."

The doctor took a hypospray and pressed it to the unknown woman's neck, then stepped aside.


	2. Chapter 2

Kathryn, Seven and the doctor looked curiously at the woman as she slowly opened her eyes and then sat upright on the biobed. First, her eyes fell on Seven and she happily smiled at them for several moments.

"Hello sweetie, you are ... beautiful." Said the unknown woman and continued to smile brightly at Seven. Seven looked at the captain in embarrassment.

Kathryn cleared her throat and then said her usual saying.

"I am Captain Kathryn Janeway, you are currently on the Federation starship Voyager." Kathryn told the woman who still had her eyes on Seven.

The woman glanced over at Kathryn and also gave her a happy smile before she turned back to Seven.

"What's your name?" She asked curiously.

Seven looked at her and then at the captain. Kathryn nodded to her and Seven turned back to the woman. "Seven of Nine" she answered a little stiffly.

The unknown woman slipped off Biobett and stepped close to Seven. To Seven's fright, she reached out and gently stroked Seven's eyepiece implant.

"That's nice, does that hurt?" She asked Seven softly.

"No, it does not hurt, it's an eyepiece implant, I got it from the Borg." answers Seven sheepishly.

"Oh the Borg, how exciting" she said euphorically, but then she turned to Kathryn frowning and blinked her eyes.

"Did you just say Federation ship Voyager?" She asked uncertainly.

"Yes, I said that." Kathryn replied, uncertain about this strange woman and her behavior.

The strange woman sat down depressed on the biobed and held a hand to her forehead and sighed heavily.

"It was clear, what should come out on a Monday, if he already runs miserable anyway? What are the odds or the chances of finding the one and only Federation ship that's been lost for years?" She murmured to herself, shaking her head.

Kathryn frowned at the woman. "Excuse me, I'm just bothering you, but I'd like to know who you are and how you came here?" Kathryn asked her.

The stranger looked up at Kathryn and smiled sadly at her.

"Oh, I climbed into my spaceship, started it, cruised around for a while and then there was an energy discharge, a loud bang, a crash, and so on, and then I woke up here, in this delightful company." She answered sarcastically and shrugged her shoulders.

Then she hopped back from Biobett and entered Seven's personal room, leaning forward and breathing a gentle kiss on Seven's cheek. "You're cute" she whispered softly.

Seven stepped behind the captain in horror and Kathryn looked at the strange woman in surprise and annoyance. What gave that woman the right to kiss Seven like that? A voice in her heart screamed jealously.

"So where I am?" She asked cheerfully to Kathryn again.

Kathryn blinked at her in confusion, first because the change of mood came too fast and second because in her thoughts, she still would have liked to slap this strange woman for kissing Seven without permission.

She cleared her throat lightly, smoothed out her uniform and put on her stern captain's mask.

"We're about 35,000 light-years away from the Alpha Quadrant in the Delta Quadrant" she explained in Captain mode.

The strange woman smiled again and winked at Seven slightly.

"Oh, okay, well then that will probably not be enough to come home in time for dinner. Regrettable, considering that there should be something delicious." Then she passed Seven and Kathryn and went energetically to the door of the infirmary. But there she was stopped by the two security crewmans.

Annoyed, she turned back to Kathryn and looked at her questioningly. "Am I a prisoner?" She asked Kathryn.

"No of course not. However, it is not optimal to let them run around here. For one thing, we do not know them, because they have not answered my question in this respect and, secondly, they do not know each other out on Voyager." Kathryn pointed out.

The strange woman sighed heavily and stepped back to Kathryn's side. "Okay, what do you want to know?" She asked sweetly.

"Who you are?" Kathryn said shortly.

The stranger looked at Kathryn a little challengingly.

"Hello, I'm Root." Root handed Kathryn her hand and shook it slightly, looking Kathryn straight in her eye. Then she winked at her.

"And to be honest, I'm in a hurry. I have an important meeting at the end of this week. So it would be nice if you would beam me back to my spaceship and I could start the homeward journey." Root said kindly.

Kathryn looked at Root stunned, then looked at the doctor and looked at him questioningly.

"Doctor, did you miss anything on healing?" She asked the doctor, who immediately took his tricorder and scanned Roots head again.

Root frowned at both. "Is there a problem with my request?" She asked Kathryn.

"Well, no of course not, but I can not believe you think they will make it back to the Alpha Quadrant by the end of the week." Kathryn admitted surprised.

Root smiled at her. "Yes, well it could be that I can not do it. But of course, before I've seen not my small space racer and figured out if it's okay with it, I do not know if I can make it to my meeting in time. Therefore, I would like to go see, if you allow." asked Root.

Kathryn considered and found that Root was right and there was no reason to deny her request.

"Sure, you can go back to your spaceship. It's up to us in Hangar Deck 1. We made it in with a tractor beam. "Kathryn explained. 

"The security crews will escort you there."

"Can Seven of Nine come too?" Root asked hopefully.

Kathryn looked puzzled at Root, and then she looked at Seven, the embarrassed one of the medical instruments looked and desperately hoping that the captain would refuse that request. She was apprehensive about this strange woman she had recently kissed on the cheek. Who knows what else would happen to her if Seven escorted her to Hangar Deck 1?

"Seven of Nine does not have time, she's having her weekly medical exam, right?" Kathryn asked the doctor, who had been watching the event in fascination.

"Yes, Captain, you are right, Seven of Nine still needs further investigation." He admitted cheerfully.

Root then pouted, but then gave up and turned to the two crewmans of the security.

"Can we go?" She asked kindly, and when these two nodded, Root walked with them zestfully from the infirmary.

Kathryn, the doctor and Seven watched her and all three had mixed feelings towards Root.

Seven gave a sigh of relief when Root had left the infirmary and Kathryn gave her a closer look.

"Interesting, right?" She asked Seven and Seven frowned and raised her eyepiece implant "Correct" she said curtly and Kathryn could not hide an amused smile.

"Well, I have to go back to the bridge. I'm curious how our new guest will continue to behave." Kathryn hurried out of the infirmary and headed for the turbolift, heading back to the bridge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note on Root: Root is a character from the Personal of Interest series. In the series, she is a highly intelligent hacker and contract killer who has a keen interest in Harold and the machine (an artificial intelligence created for real-time analysis and analysis of global traffic, communication and all movements and operations.) It has unlimited access to all data and servers of the Internet, the US services and telecommunications companies). In the course of the series, root becomes the analog interface of the machine. She gives up her old life as a contract killer and joins the team of the machine and tries to save the world from the evil forces. She is not always nice and nice, but bang hard, but with her own methods, humor and humor on the go.
> 
> Here is a Youtube video to better understand root:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQpV7Of3vdQ


	3. Chapter 3

Once in Hangar Deck 1, Root headed straight for her spaceship, which was about twice the size of the Delta Flyer. She stopped in front of the spaceship's hatchway and put her hand on a panel, which immediately set and flashed green. A scanning light passed over her hand and immediately after, another iris scanner appeared from the outer wall of the spaceship. Root kept her right eye on this scanner and her eye was thoroughly checked.

Shortly thereafter, the hatchway hissed open and Root turned with a wide smile to the two security officers.

"Sorry guys, access only for girls." She winked at them and went inside the spaceship. There she immediately put her hand on another scanner and the hatchway was closed again hissing. Quickly, Root walked through her small spaceship, past the engine room, the two sleeping chambers, the cooking area, the medical department, to the front of the bridge.

There she immediately sat in the pilot's chair and entered several complicated codes. A little later her spaceship came to life and everywhere different lights flashed on the different consoles and control panels.

Again, Root quickly entered several codes and ran a diagnostic scan to see if everything was alright with their spaceship. As the analysis went on, she went back through her spaceship to her bedroom. There she sat exhausted on her bed and stared for a long time, resigned off herself.

An old picture was framed on her bedside table.

"Yes, I know." Root sighed deeply and took the picture in her hands and studied it for a long time.

"I put myself in this mess and do not worry sweetie, I'll get out of there as well." Root confidently said to the picture and then smiled sadly at it.

The picture showed a young woman with long black hair. She had a black tank top and black pants on. She was holding an assault rifle in her hands and she was scowling and determined.

Root still remembered the day the picture was taken. They were both on a mission to Miami and had to pick up a drug ring. They were successful, but in the end both had some scratches and scratches, but nothing that really prevented them from successfully completing their mission.

Root smiled at the memory. That was so long ago and yet it seemed to her as if it had happened only last week. Root sighed wistfully and sadly one last time, then she put the photo back and pulled out of her backpack, which stood out next to the bed her medicine package. From a pill box she took a tablet and put it on her tongue and swallowed the pill without taking any liquid. Then she lay down on the bed and waited for the pill to take effect.

An hour later, Root woke up from her sleep, when suddenly a beep signaled that the spaceship's analysis was over. She got up quickly and ran back to the bridge. There she looked through the analysis data and settled down in her pilot's chair.

"Crap" she murmured to herself, hiding her face in her hands. "The meeting at the end of the week is really nothing." She sighed heavily.

For a while she sat still downcast in her pilot's chair and thought about her overall situation. In her head, suggested solutions and she looked, each solution from every angle, then sorted out the solutions that were completely absurd and kept those in the view that were promising. In her mind, she quickly made up various lists of what things she needed and what opportunities there were to get those things.

More determined, as before, she stood up and entered several codes in starboard control. Immediately all the lights that had lit up the various control panels went out and their entire spaceship switched off.

Then she went back to her bedroom and put some things in her backpack, which she then hung over her right shoulder. From her cupboard she got her favorite laptop and slipped it into her shoulder bag, which she also hung around her upper body. From the dresser drawer she then took some cables and put them to the laptop in her shoulder bag.

So laden, she left her spaceship a little later, beaming with joy at the two security officers who had made themselves comfortable near the spaceship.

"Sorry guys, took a little longer than intended. I would like to speak to your captain again. Could you bring me to her?"Asked Root kindly.

The security officers looked at each other and then looked back at Root.

"I will ask the captain. Wait." said one security officer. He took a few steps and then contacted the captain via a communicator.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hello sweetie, did you miss me?" Asked Root after getting out of the turbolift and immediately meeting Seven, who was working on her work console on the bridge.

Seven looked at Root confused and blinked her eyes. Immediately she put her arms behind her back and straightened up a bit more.

Root smiled at her, then put her hand on Seven's upper arm and gently stroked it.

"Relax sweetie, I'm just here to talk to the captain. Be nice, see you later." She turned to the security officers, who showed her the way to the captain's ready room.

The whole bridge crew had noticed the small incident and now looked at Seven amazed. Seven, embarrassed, looked down at her work console and entered more codes, ignoring the looks that were directed at her.

Root headed purposefully toward the ready room door, but before turning back to look at Seven. This had looked up briefly and looked at exactly the same moment to Root. Root gave her a friendly smile before she winked at her and then turned to the door and pressed the buzzer.

Seven blushed and quickly lowered her head again, concentrating on her messages.


	5. Chapter 5

"Come in." Kathryn called and saw how Root entered her ready room and quickly looked around the ready room before turning her attention to Kathryn.

"Captain, thanks for letting me meet you. I'm sure you have a lot to do, "Root said as she slipped her backpack from her shoulder and dropped it next the chair, in front of Kathryn's desk. Then she took off her large shoulder bag, which was hung around her upper body, and put her to the backpack.

"That's why I do not want to spend too much of your time coming right to what I want to discuss with you." Explained Root and immediately sat in the chair in front of Kathryn's desk. Kathryn looked at her curiously.

"As it looks, my spacechip needs some repairs and I'll spend a while here in the Delta Quadrant. I have looked and found that I have no financial means with me. However, I will need some stuff, so I wanted to trade with you. I have some interesting stuff that you and the crew might like. Would you be willing to negotiate with me?" Asked Root businesslike. Quite unlike Kathryn had met her in the infirmary a few hours ago.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear your spaceship is damaged and needs to be repaired. If you gave me a list of the things you need, we could look into what we can provide. My crew could also help you with the repairs." Kathryn replied kindly and sympathetically.

Root blinked at her several times, then sighed deeply.

"Thank you for your offer, but unfortunately I can not accept it. I'm sure you have and could give me some of the things I need. But I prefer to get these things for myself. And I think on the next inhabited planet, I'm sure I'll find what I need." Explained Root.

Kathryn looked at her in confusion. "You want to get things for yourself? May I ask what you plan to do when your spaceship is repaired?" Kathryn asked worriedly.

Root smiled brightly at her and sat down on the chair a little before answering.

"As soon as my spacechip is repaired, I'll leave the Voyager with my spaceship and begin my journey home to the Alpha Quadrant." She said confidently.

Kathryn stared at Root in disbelief. "You want to travel home alone?" Kathryn asked in surprise.

"Yes, for sure. Why not?" Root replied again a bit amusingly.

"Well, because you will not survive a week here in the Delta Quadrant when you're traveling alone. The Delta Quadrant is teeming with hostile races and pirates. It would be absurd and criminal of me to let you go alone. You've only been here for a short while and you do not know your way around." Kathryn explained in captain mode.

Root slid off her chair and stood up.

"Do not worry, Captain, I'll be fine. I already know how to take care of myself. But thank you for worrying about that. It is not necessary and not desirable. On the other hand, I would like to negotiate and trade with you, so I have credit to pay for the things I need. I do not like, the technology that I have with me, entrust foreign races.who knows what they would do with it or what damage could be done by my technology."

Kathryn also got up from her chair and walked in front to her desk, very close to Root. Root was about half a head taller than she was. Kathryn looked deep into her eyes and tried to figure out how to dissuade Root from her absurd idea. But in Root's eyes, she saw no uncertainties.

Root looked at her confidently and before Kathryn knew it, Root put her hands on Kathryn's upper arms and pulled her close. Then she leaned down to Kathryn and gave her a kiss on her cheek.

"Do not worry, I'm a survivalist and I have many talents. You'll like my technology." Soothing her Kathryn, she took a step back from her and winked at her. Then she took her backpack and opened it and rummaged around in it.

Meanwhile, Kathryn looked at her frozen and incredulous. Was that really happening? Did Root kiss her on the cheek and wink at her? What's wrong with this woman? All those thoughts and many more raced through Kathryn's head as she continued to watch as Root pulled some things out of her backpack.

Kathryn needed a few moments to regain her composure.

Root looked up at her and looked at her questioningly. "Captain?"

"I ..., I ..." Kathryn stuttered embarrassed.

Root dropped the various things she had pulled from her backpack onto Kathryn's desk and straightened up. Then she looked at Kathryn closely and a smile came to her lips.

"You do not often get a kiss on the cheek, do you?" Root asked, sighing after realizing that Kathryn still did not quite function in her role as captain.

"No" Kathryn replied decisively.

Roots eyes suddenly sparkled and her smile spread a little. "Pity it does not happen that often to you. You look very sexy and irresistible. You should have yourself kissed more often. The blush on your face is very beautiful." Root grinned and walked over to Kathryn.

But Kathryn took a step back and raised her hands to keep Root at bay.

"No, not. I am the captain of this spaceship and I have a duty to keep my crew crew safe until we return to Alpha Quadrant. Kissing the captain is forbidden!" Kathryn declared confidently.

But Root looked at her with a wry smile. "Whatever you say." She said to Kathryn and then rummaged around in her backpack.


	6. Chapter 6

Kathryn took the opportunity and went to the replicator and ordered a coffee. Then she sat on the couch on the top floor and watched as Root took more stuff out of her backpack.

When she was done, Root looked around for Kathryn. Then she took the things from desk in her arms and went to Kathryn and put everything on the coffee table.

"This one" Root picked up a small object about the size of a communicator and gave it to Kathryn. As she did so, her fingers brushed Kathryn's fingers and she lingered a moment longer than was necessary.

"Is a holoprojector and the" Root took some small silver chips no bigger than a penny and showed them Kathryn "are disk that you introduce into this holoprojector. The holoprojector has a similar structure to a holodeck, but it is portable. Should I demonstrate it?"

Kathryn nodded curiously and Root picked a suitable disk out of the various silver chips and slid it into the holoprojector. Then she put the holoprojector on the floor and clicked it. A few seconds later, suddenly a motorcycle was standing next to the couch and Kathryn stared at it in disbelief.

"This is the holoprojector." Root pointed to the small holoprojector that was now integrated into the motorcycle on the side. "And this is now a working motorcycle that can drive about 2 hours. After 2 hours, the fuel is out and you have to recharge it with your identity chip." Root clicked on the holoprojector again and the motorcycle disappeared. Then she picked it up and pulled out the disk and slid another disk in. A few seconds later, a reading chair stood next to the couch.

Root grinned triumphantly at Kathryn.

"Awesome, right? It's the latest craze in the Alpha Quadrant and you can do a variety of things with a variety of disks. There is also an additional adapter, which allows you to expand the holoprojector and use multiple disks at the same time. What do you say? "Asked Root curiously.

Kathryn took the holoprojector in her hand and turned it back and forth. "Nice technology, but it does not convince me yet. I do not yet see how we can use them here on Voyager." She answered and Root pulled a pout.

"Okay, give me a moment and I'll show you how to use it." Root got up and quickly got her bag. Then she sat down again on the couch next Kathryn and took out her laptop.

Kathryn looked at him strangely because she did not recognize this device.

Root opened her laptop and entered several quick codes in seconds. Kathryn looked at her in astonishment at the speed with which her fingers flew over the keys and entered command codes. It reminded her of the way Seven could handle the computer. Suddenly Kathryn Root saw a whole new light. This woman next to here seemed not only very unpredictable, but also very intelligent. A dangerous mixture, Kathryn thought.

Root picked up a handful of disks and looked at them in turn. After finding one, knowing only what she was looking for, she slid the disk into a slot in her laptop and entered more command codes. After a moment, it hummed into her laptop and she pulled out the disk and put it in the holoprojector. After she clicked it, she tucked it on her jacket. Then she got up and went to the replicator and also entered several codes there and a little later an object materialized, which she took out and went back to Kathryn's side.

It was a knife with a blade that was about 10 cm long and looked very sharp. She briefly showed it to Kathryn before she pulled up her jacket sleeve and put the blade against her forearm, squeezing the knife blade into her skin and then pulling the sharp knife edge over it.

Kathryn held her breath in horror and watched in horror what Root was doing. To her surprise, she saw that the knife did no damage to Roots forearm.

Root looked at Kathryn and smiled triumphantly. "I've programmed the disk so that as soon as my heart rate increases, my entire body will be provided with a kind of shield by the holoprojector. Nothing can happen to me like that, neither a phaser nor a knife, nor anything else that can harm me as long as my holoprojector has been programmed and I carry it."

Root clicked out her holoprojector and once more put the sharp knife edge on her skin, swinging it from the wrist to her elbows. Immediately, blood came out of the wound and Kathryn looked at Root and the blood in horror.

"Do you see?" Asked Root, staring at her wound, which she had just contracted herself, and did not seem to want to take any action against the blood and the pain.

Kathryn immediately clicked on her communicator and called the doctor for help. The doctor immediately materialized into ready room and looked at the wound on Roots forearm with wonder.

"What happened?" He asked worriedly.

"Nothing special, just a little demonstration." Root answered calmly, pulling her arm away from the doctor's hand.

"Thanks, but I can handle this alone." She said dismissively and pushed her jacket sleeve down her arm.

Both Kathryn and the doctor looked at her distraught.

"That needs to be dealt with." The doctor said decisively and immediately took Roots arm in his hand, pushed up the jacket sleeve and let the skin regenerator glide over it.

Root looked at him disapprovingly but made no attempt to stop him.

After the doctor finished, he looked at Root sternly and then at the captain.

"Thank you doctor, you can go now." the captain ordered and the doctor looked at her in surprise.

"Are you sure I should go?" He asked worriedly.

"Yes." Kathryn said determinedly and the doctor saw that it was time to go again.

After the doctor left, Kathryn looked at Root sternly.

"What? That was the easiest way to show you what the holoprojector can do. You can also use it and the disks to project weapons, but I think if I had demonstrated that to you, you would have called the security team right away. Or?"

Kathryn continued to look gravely at Root and you could see how much she had to keep her anger at bay. "I do not tolerate such self-destructive behavior. Is that clear?" She hissed at Root angrily.

Root looked embarrassed to one side and slid restlessly on the couch, then nodded her head and collected all the disks and the holoprojector, entered several command codes into her laptop, and then closed it again. After putting everything back in her backpack and bag, she looked at Kathryn again.

"Are we in business?" She asked Kathryn a little uncertainly.

"I will think about it. As long as you are free to stay on the Voyager and begin your repairs to your spaceship. Make a list of the things you need and we'll put them at your disposal." Kathryn explained in captain mode.

"I already said that I can not accept your help and I do not want it. This is not an option for me. Either we are in business or I have to leave Voyager immediately and head for the next inhabited planet. So far brings me my spaceship still." Explained Root stubborn.

Kathryn shook her head at so much stubbornness and ran her hand over her forehead.

"Why do not you want to accept our help?" She asked resignedly.

"This" Root spread her arms out, indicating that she meant the Voyager "is a Starfleet ship. That means there is a military power structure aboard Voyager. I'm not very good with it and therefore refuse any help. I prefer to do things my way. I do not like to be commanded around and whoever tries it anyway will not have much fun with it." Root answered seriously.

Kathryn sighed heavily and looked at Root sadly.

"Over the next few days, we will head to an inhabited planet to replenish supplies. We have already established contact with the prevailing race and will soon learn from them if we are allowed to visit their home planet. I suggest you at least stay on Voyager for so long. Until then, I've been considered if we can do business." Kathryn replied.

Root thought about it and then nodded her head. "Will the security officers continue to follow me at every turn or can I move freely on Voyager?" She asked after a short time.

"I'll tell the security team to go back to other tasks as long as you promise not to harm my ship, my crew, or yourself in any way." Kathryn said firmly.

"Okay, I promise." Root said, putting her shoulder bag around her torso again and picking up her backpack.

Then she went to the door. "See you." She call at Kathryn again, then left Kathryn and her ready room.

Kathryn looked after her and sat back behind her desk with a deep sigh. She hoped she would not regret having pulled off Root's security team. Although she had only recently known Root, she had got the impression that Root was very unpredictable and with her anything could happen on her ship.


	7. Chapter 7

Too bad of Roots, Seven was no longer at her work console, but was completely missing on the bridge when she re-entered. Her two guards looked at her and she waved her hand.

"Sorry guys, but you have to find another task. The captain has allowed me to move freely on Voyager." Root shrugged apologetically and headed toward the turbolift.

Before she reached it, Chakotay stepped forward.

"Hello, I'm Commander Chakotay and you are you?"

"Busy, but I think your boss wants to talk to you. Bye." With that, Root entered the turbolift and lowered himself onto Hangar Deck 1.

Chakotay stared after her stunned, then punished his shoulder and went briskly to the ready room of his captain.

********************

Meanwhile, Root had landed on Hangar Deck 1, but instead of turning to her spaceship, Root went the other way to a hatch in a Jefferies tube. She picked up her backpack and shoulder bag and slid both into the Jeffries tube. Next she climbed in and pushed her things in a bit. This she did until she stayed in the Jefferies tube in front of a panel for about 100 meters.

There she took off the panel and looked closely at the gel pack. Since she thought it was good, she got her laptop and several cables out of her shoulder bag and connected everything to her laptop. Then she placed two long needles in the gel pack and connected the needles to an adapter, which in turn was connected to the laptop cable. Root took a scanner out of her backpack and tried to locate the appropriate interface to connect to the Voyager's main computer. Once she found it, Root launched her laptop and entered several codes of an algorithm, looking at what quickly spilled onto her laptop of information about the entire Voyager crew, as well as the Voyager itself, logbooks, both private and commando books, mission reports and much more, listed on her laptop screen.

Root picked out a few small data discs and slid one into her laptop to save all the information so she could see through it later. Four to five more data discs followed the first data disc until Root had saved and backed up all the information.

A block of data immediately caught Roots's attention and she read it inside the Jefferies tube. The datablock was about Seven of Nine, about her release from the Borg, about her time spent aboard Voyager, about mission reports, and personal logbook entries from the various crewmembers she mentions by name.

Root was a fast reader, so within hours, she could go through all that data through Seven. When she opened her eyes in the infirmary, she knew that Seven of Nine was a special person. But now she knew for sure and decided to get to know Seven of Nine even closer. Besides, Seven was a Borg and Root were interested in the Borg as much as computers and everything related to them.

Root smiled thoughtfully as she put her laptop, cables, and everything back in her backpack and bag and laboriously began the return journey from Jefferie's tube.

In the meantime she worked out all sorts of scenarios in her head, how she could approach Seven. She was aware that Seven would probably be too suspicious of too quick contact.Therefore, Root decided to slow down from now on and not scare Seven off by too much flirting.


	8. Chapter 8

In the next 2 days, Root remaindet into her spaceship. Since she wanted to save energy, so that her journey home was not made even more difficult by lack of energy, she had only the most necessary technology to find her right in her spaceship.

In the two days she went through all the important data she had downloaded from Voyager's main computer. Within a short time she had a good impression of all the crew members who were on the Voyager.

Even Seven's private logbook entries could finally read after several hours of hacking the Borg encryption keys. To her dismay, she realized that Seven was quite lonely on Voyager and had little contact with the rest of the crew.

Only the Capatin seemed interested in Seven and taking her under her wings to reintegrate her into humanity and help her integrate. Then there was a little girl named Naomi, who had more contact with Seven. Actually sweet, if not the bad aftertaste that only a little girl wanted to deal with Seven.

Root sighed sadly, about this new realization. It was nice that the captain took time for Seven and got her to do some things, however, the captain had very little private time, which she could not always support Seven.

And Naomi was just a little girl.

*****************

"Hello sweetie." greeted Root Seven as she entered the astrometric lab.

Seven immediately turned to Root and stiffened. She looked at Root suspiciously and pulled on her borg mask.

Root stepped up to her and put a hand on Seven's upper arm and gently stroked it, then took a step back to give Seven the space she needed. She gave her a friendly smile.

"Do not worry, relax, I'm just here to get some information from you. The captain told me two days ago that we would soon reach an inhabited planet and I could get some things there to get my spaceship afloat again. I wanted to ask you if you could give me some information about the planet's population. No more." Explained Root quickly.

Seven turned to her work console and relaxed a little. Then she entered several commands into the console and appeared on the big screen, the planet they would soon reach. 

"This is Antrie, the inhabitants call themselves Antrans and they belong to the humanoid species. That's what they look like." Seven uploaded a picture of an Antran and Root looked at him closely.

"What can you tell me about your species?" Asked Root.

"Species 871 is technologically uninteresting to the Borg, as they have not been very prominent in the field of techonology for the past 500 years." Explained Seven freely, only then did she realize that she had responded in Borg mode. Embarrassed, she lowered her head.

Root immediately noticed Seven's embarrassment.

"Hey, everything's okay. We all have a past and your past is part of you, so do not worry, I'm not horrified that you gave me this information like this. To be precise, I find the Borg very interesting and exciting. I'm not afraid of you, but I'm very interested in getting to know you better." Root replied, hoping that she could calm Seven down again.

Seven looked up at Root and studied her closely. "You are not afraid of the Borg?" She asked curiously.

"No, I did not. I mean, you're the first Borg I've met and I do not feel like I'm afraid of you. Of course, you are no longer a Borg drone. And who knows if I would face a Borg drone, how I would feel about it. You do not know that until you experience it, do you?" Root answered and smiled gently at Seven.

Seven looked at her speechless.

"What else is there to say to the Antrans?" Root asked after a moment. "Can you trade with them and do business? Can I find on they planet what I need to get my spaceship to get afloat again?"

Seven thought about the questions. "The Antrans are technologically not so advanced that you could buy the components needed for your spaceship. Their technology is outdated, but they negotiate with passing spaceships and have contact with alien species. Therefore, it can not be ruled out that you can find what you need." Seven replied.

Before Root could reply, the door of the Astrometric Laboratory hissed open and the captain entered.

Root and Seven looked around in surprise and the captain came running towards them.

"Root, I'm glad to meet you here. I have already searched you. Seven I just wanted to stop by and ask if everything is okay with you." Kathryn explained.

Seven looked at her captain in amazement. "Yes, Captain, everything is fine here." Seven admitted.

Root watched the two intrigued, wondering if they knew of their mutual attraction to each other. Just as the two danced around each other, probably not. She smiled amusedly at both women.

"Root?" Kathryn asked.

"Yes?" Root asked in surprise.

"I would like to talk to you about something, will you accompany me a bit?" Kathryn asked.

"Yes, certainly." And addressed to Seven "Thanks for your help. See you soon sweetie." Root said softly, then left astrometry with Kathryn.


	9. Chapter 9

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I wanted to talk to you about your presence on Voyager. For one, I forgot to offer you a guest quarters and to give you a communicator. And secondly, I wanted to talk about your refusal to accept our help." Kathryn explained as they continued down the hall and headed for the turbolift.

Root sighed deeply before answering. "At the moment I do not need a guest quarters and a communicator just as little. My refusal to accept your help remains. I'm sorry, my attitude has not changed. But how about you, did you think about coming into business with me? That would definitely help me a lot."

Kathryn shook her head about so much stubbornness as she got into the turbolift and called the computer the deck she wanted. Root followed her into the turbolift and waited for Kathryn's answer.

"I thought about it and the holoprojector is very interesting. I sat down with our 1st officer and my security officer and talked about it and we agree that the shield is a very ingenious thing. However, we do not just need a holoprojector for it. Is there a way to duplicate it so that every crewmember can get one and be protected?" Kathryn asked as they got out of the turbolift and down the aisle and stopped in front of Kathryn's quarters.

Kathryn entered her code and her door hissed open for her. Both women entered Kathryn's quarters.

"Yes, certainly that is possible. I can make a stencil of the holoprojector and list the circuits and components, then it's a breeze to make it." Root replied excitedly, given the prospect that they would still come into business. Meanwhile, she sat down on the couch and looked at Kathryn.

Kathryn meanwhile took off her uniform jacket and put it over the couch, then went to the replicator and ordered a coffee.

"What do you want to drink?" She asked Root.

"A hot chocolate would be nice." Root answered.

Kathryn ordered the drink she wanted and then went to Root with her coffee and roots of hot chocolate and over her. Then she sat next to Root and took a sip of her own coffee.

"How long would that take, are you a template listing the circuits and all the components?" Kathryn asked.

Root smiled broadly over her cup of hot chocolate before answering. "One moment, not more. I saved everything in my laptop. I just have to get it, connect it to your computer and transfer the data and it's all done."

Kathryn looked at Root in astonishment. "More is not required?" She asked in surprise.

"No, more is not necessary. I've already thought that the holoprojector is only interesting for you if we produced several of them. That's why I've already set to work and listed everything." Root explained smiling.

"That was very forward-looking." Admitted Kathryn appreciatively.

Root put her cup of hot chocolate on the coffee table and looked Kathryn deep in the eyes.

"Should I get my laptop and start working?" Root asked.

"No, I think that has time until tomorrow. I would like to have something to eat, would you like to stay and have a meal?" Kathryn asked without much thought. Because if she had thought about it, she would have had to admit that she liked being in Root Company. Why did not she know exactly. Everything spoke against it, but Root intrigued them and their unpredictable nature only made it even stronger.

Root grinned at her broadly. "Yes, I would like that very much."

"Well, what do you want to eat?" Kathryn asked, who had already got up and turned to the replicator.

"Oh, I would be more than happy with a sandwich." Root also got up and walked over to Kathryn's replicator.

"Let me do that." She said to Kathryn and entered her personal room. Kathryn took a step back and nodded her head.

Root quickly entered some codes into the replicator display with her long fingers, and a short time later two plates, each with a sandwich, materialized in front of her eyes in the replicator.

She took out both plates and returned to the couch. Kathryn looked at her in surprise, but followed her. Then Root sat comfortably on the couch and looked at Kathryn smiling.

"Are you coming?" She asked Kathryn.

"Usually I eat at the dining table." Kathryn explained, but sat next to Root on the couch.

"Hm ..." Root only replied, since she had already bitten off a bite of her sandwich and chewed it with relish. With her sandwich in her hand, she then said with a full mouth. "Normally, this is something you should change more often. So it is much more comfortable." 

Kathryn looked a bit dumbfounded at Root, but then took a bite of her sandwich and chewed on it until she swallowed it.

"There is a problem, which I still have to discuss with you." Kathryn said after a moment.

Root raised her eyebrow and frowned at Kathryn. "What a problem?" She asked, again with a full mouth, as she had just bitten off her sandwich again.

"I can not give you any credits for the holoprojectors." Kathryn replied sheepishly. "Look, nobody here on Voyager has credit. Our currency consists of replicator rations. Each member of the crew gets paid a rate of replicator rations at the end of the month to deal with for a month. Anyone who wants to save replicator rations or spends his replicator rations too fast, has to eat at Neelix in the fairs. This is free and does not consume replicator energy as he cooks himself. It makes no sense to have credit out here. Every planet we encounter has a different currency and you can not get very far with credit. They are worthless here in this quadrant. That's why we act with what we have. A little technology, star charts, information, etc." Kathryn explained.

Root chewed thoughtfully on her sandwich and thought about it. It made sense, but it would complicate their efforts. Sighing heavily, she put her half sandwich on her plate and looked at Kathryn sadly.

"That's a big problem, but maybe not. I must think about it. Thanks for letting me know." Root bite again from her sandwich.

"I would like to hear more from you. Who you are, where you came from, what you did there." Kathryn said after a while, in which she and Root had silently eaten their sandwiches.

Root, still thinking of this new problem, looked at her bleakly. "Damn, before that came now?" She shot into her head. She swallowed her sandwiches cumbersome and quickly thought about what she should answer. Should she rather go? Then she would not have to lie to the captain. Should she stay and lie to the captain? Or, what was crazy, should she tell the captain the truth? No, that was too crazy and besides, the captain did not care.

Root chose a middle ground, a little truth and a little lie. Yes, that would work.

"I come from the earth, work there in the IT sector in a noteworthy company and who I am? Well maybe you could find out for yourself." Root answered and winked at Kathryn.

Then she reached out and gently stroked Kathryn's cheek. "Who are you?" She asked seriously.

Kathryn swallowed, given that touch, but then leaned in and enjoyed Root's gentle hand on her cheek. "Lonely" Kathryn's mouth was shot immediately. Quickly she put a hand on her mouth and blushed, on the face.

Root smiled sadly at her. "I know and someone should be there for you." She answered.

"I'm the captain, my job is to bring Voyager and my crew home safely to the Alpha Quadrant. I can not relate, that would distract me from my job too much." Kathryn explained.

Root looked at Kathryn understandingly and nodded her head. "I can understand that your position as captain demands a lot from you and I am very sorry that you are suffering from it. But who says you always have to enter into a relationship right away? I mean, a little flirtation here and there, but nothing speaks. Or?" Asked Root, looking at her challengingly.

Kathryn blinked uncertainly at her eyes. Was Root making her a suggestion, or was it just an idea of how to counter her loneliness?

"What are you doing in the IT area?" She asked Root, to distract attention from the topic.

Root grinned at her broadly. "I program computers, create new algorithms and codes, solve mathematical problems, and think about different ways to improve or renew this or that, or make it more efficient. I am traveling in different areas. Depending on what interests me or concerns me. And now I'm interested in you." Root said seductively and leaned over to Kathryn. There she put a peck on her cheek and continued with her mouth over Kathryn's cheek to her ear.

"You're hot, let me show you how hot I find you." Root whispered in Kathryn's ear.

Kathryn blushed and a shiver ran down her spine. She had never met anyone like Root, who had so upset her so cheekily and confidently, after so short a time, and also made her a sexual offer.

Root withdrew from Kathryn's personal area and grinned at her.

Root got up from the couch. "My offer is, let me know if you want to accept it. Unfortunately, I have to go and do some more. Good night, Captain." She turned to the door and left Kathryn's quarters.

Kathryn stared after her stunned and ran her hand over her forehead. Oh God, had she really kissed Root the second time and let her get away with it? She should have justified her and made her realize that she should not do that. She was the captain. Goddamn! What about root and why could Root make her so insecure and weak?

That had to stop, Kathryn decided. The next time I see Root, I'll have to tell her again.


	10. Chapter 10

After Root had left the quarters, she found out where she could find Seven of Nine and how she got there. With a big smile on her face, she walked through the corridors of the Voyager and entered Cargo Bay 2 after a while.

There she immediately saw Seven working on her work console.

"Hello sweetie, is not it too late to work yet?" She asked Seven curiously.

Seven looked at Root and punished her shoulders. "I'm Borg, I do not need a break." she explained eagerly.

Root looked at her crookedly. "Hm ... but then you miss a lot of fun, you can have, if you treat yourself to rest." she replied.

Seven thought about it and replied "Fun is irrelevant."

Root grinned at Seven. "Oh, only someone who has never had fun can say that." Then she took a closer look at Cargo Bay 2. "What are you doing here exactly?" She asked.

"This is my home, here I am regenerating." Explained Seven and pointed to her alcove. Root looked horrified at Seven.

"You live here, in this environment?" She asked sharply. Seven nodded her head and turned back to her workstation and kept working.

Root shook her head in horror, she could not believe that the Captain did not have enough empathy to accommodate Seven properly. Root liked the captain, but this one did not like her at all. Sighing deeply, she sits on the step in front of Seven's alcove.

Seven looked at her in surprise. "Is something wrong?" She asked.

"Yes, the whole thing is wrong here. You should have your own quarters and not have to live in a cargo hold." Root said depressed.

"Convenience is irrelevant, I have everything I needed here. More is not needed." Said Seven and did not quite understand why Root disagreed.

Root laughed contemptuously and shook her head again. "Oh sweetie, you're so wrong. I wish I knew how to convince you otherwise." Root said sadly.

"Why is that so important to you?" Seven asked.

Root sighed and patted her hand next to her, motioning for Seven to sit with her. Seven frowned at her, then stepped to Root and sat down awkwardly beside her.

"I like you, you're special, so I think you deserve better. That's why it's important to me. Unfortunately, it is completely unimportant to you and you do not even seem to know about your situation and that makes me sad." Root replied softly.

"Voyager does not have enough quarters. I would have to share a room with someone else if I asked for a room. I think nobody would like to share a room with me." Seven said softly.

"I do." Root said immediately and smiled at Seven.

Seven, on the other hand, looked at her questioningly.

"Come, I'll show you my spaceship. I have two sleeping chambers and if you want, you could use one of them as your retreat. Whenever you need to rest, you come over and have your own little room just for you to do whatever you want."

"I did not need a retreat." Seven replied stubbornly.

"Believe me sweetie, everyone needs a retreat. Just come with me and I'll show you. Then you can still say *No, thanks* if you do not like it. Okay?" Root asked hopefully.

Root got up and held out her hand to Seven. When Seven looked at her questioningly, Root simply took Seven's hand in her hand and pulled her up. Which was harder for her than she thought.

"Wow, you're pretty heavy, what did you eat?" Root asked with a grin.

"I do not need food, I draw my energy from the alcove and the regeneration. That I'm so heavy is due to my Borg implants." Seven said sheepishly.

"Hey, no reason to be ashamed of that." Root said after she realized Seven was ashamed of that.

"Turn off your work console and let's go, yes?"

*************************

Root held her hand over the hand scanner and then her right eye to the iris scanner. Only then did the opening gap of her spaceship open.

"If you decide to accept my offer, I will also give you an access permit. Come, I'll show you everything, as far as that's possible. Unfortunately I can not adjust the whole spaceship, because otherwise too much energy would be lost, which I miss when I fly home. That's why I only have the most necessary technology." Root chattered excitedly as she pulled Seven into her spaceship. Then she let the outer hatch close again.

Root led Seven through the dimly lit corridor and then stopped at one of the sleeping chambers.

"This is my sleeping chamber and that's the one that's still free." Root quickly operated the panel by the door and it hissed open. Then she went into the little bedroom and Seven followed her.

"It's small, I know, but you would have your rest here and could do whatever you want." Root said, and Seven looked around curiously.

The bedchamber had a bed, a cupboard and a dresser and a window, which was just dark through a privacy screen to the outside world.

Root sat down on the bed and looked at Seven eagerly. "What do you say sweetie, do you like it?"

Seven looked around uncertainly. Yes, she liked the idea of having her own room for herself, but could she accept the offer?

"You can lock the door too, so you really have your rest." Root explained quickly.

"I like it, thanks." Seven said softly.

A big smile immediately appeared on Roots face.

"Great, how about you stay the same overnight and see if you really like it?" Asked Root.

"What am I supposed to do tonight?" Seven asked uncertainly.

"You could sleep."

"I have never slept in a bed. I do not know how to do that." Seven said right away, with a hint of panic in her voice.

"No problem, I can help you, I'm pretty good with it. So do not worry, it's easy."

"How do I proceed?" Seven asked curiously.

"Oh, you want to go to bed now?" Root asked, astonished.

Seven nodded her head and wanted to learn the procedure as soon as possible.

"Well, first of all, your dress looks very uncomfortable and you should wear a pajamas. You sleep much better in comfortable sleeping clothes." Root explained.

"This is my bio-suit. He regulates my body temperature."

"To sleep, you do not need your bio-suit to stay warm. While sleeping, we have a blanket that will do it. I have some shirts over there in my bedroom, wait a moment." With that, Root hurriedly got up and went to her bedroom and got some shirts and came back with them and put them on the bed in front of Seven.

"Choose one of them, please." Seven looked at the shirts one at a time and then decided on a pink shirt with a purple elephant on it, its ears sticking out of the shirt. Root grinned at this selection wide Seven.

"Good choice. Okay, I'll leave you alone so you can change your clothes. Call me when you're ready. I'm over in my room over there." Root said, giving Seven the privacy to move undisturbed.

Root gave Seven 10min, then she went over. "Sweetie, have you moved, can I come back in?" She asked, stopping at the door.

"Yes"

Root went back to the bedroom and stopped in front of Seven and looked at her admiringly.

"You look good in this shirt. I brought you some sleeping socks. Here, please put them on, they keep your feet nice and warm."

Seven looked irritated at the sleeping socks.

"Come sit on the bed, I'll help you put it on." offered Root and Seven followed her. After the socks were on, Root looked at Seven. "Hm ... we should also solve your strict hairstyle, so you can sleep much better. Let me help you." Root said and Seven turned her head so that Root could pull out the needles that held her hairdo. Then she brushed her fingers through Seven's hair and smoothed it out.

"Some mothers brush their daughters' hair before they send them to bed, so they're silky smooth." Root said sadly. Her own mom had never done it, which was probably the best. Root sighed deeply in his memory.

Seven turned her head to Root and looked at her irritated.

"Okay, now, slip under the covers and lie down." instructed Root Seven before it started to get weird. Seven obeyed and slipped under the covers and lay down. But as she lay down, it looked more than stiff. Root frowned.

"Wait a minute, I'll go get some." She said and walked quickly into her bedroom. Shortly afterwards, she returned with a Ugle Doll Black Ice Bat and gave it seven.

"What's that and what do I need it for?" She asked immediately, looking at the cuddly toy suspiciously.

"This is a cuddly toy, you can snuggle up to it and sleep better. Okay, how about you lie down more comfortably? As you lie, it looks very uncomfortable. You certainly can not fall asleep like that." Root said after looking at Seven in her stiff position.

"Show me how to lie down comfortably. Please." asked Seven Root.

Root smiled gently at Seven, then crawled under the covers. She lay down on her right side, slipped her arm under the pillow and rested her head on it.

"Follow me and see if this position is good for you. With your other arm you hold the cuddly toy close to you."

After Seven Roots had mimicked sleeping position and also pressed the cuddly toy to himself, thought about how it felt. Immediately an old memory came up in her and she straightened up quickly.

"As a kid, I slept like that and I also held a doll in my arms." she said excitedly. "My father read a good night story to me so I could fall asleep better."

Root smiled widely at Seven. "Yes, that's the way parents do it. And is this position good for you?" She asked softly.

"Yes." Seven replied.

"Okay, then lie down and close your eyes now, relax and just let yourself fall. Think of something nice or try not to think about anything. Then sleep will come quickly." instruct Root Seven softly and turned off the lights.

After Seven had closed her eyes and lay quietly under the covers for several minutes, Root slipped out from under the covers and wanted to creep quietly out of the bedroom so as not to disturb Seven when she fell asleep.

"Good night and sweet dreams." Root whispered into the darkness and left the sleeping chamber, leaving the door ajar to allow the faint corridor lighting to shine into the dark bedroom.

"Root?" Seven asked softly.

Root stopped and looked again at Seven's bedchamber. "Yes?" She asked worriedly.

"Thanks and good night." Seven said and closed her eyes again. Root smiled into the darkness before returning to her own sleeping chamber.


	11. Chapter 11

"Root?" Seven asked, nudging her slightly.

Root moved lazily and blinked her eyes. "Hm ...?" She asked sleepily.

"I have to go to my service, you have to let me out of your spaceship." Seven said.

Root looked at her sleepily. "What time is it?" She asked hoarsely.

"It's almost 700" Seven said, and Root still looked at her disoriented. She rubbed her eyes with her hands to get well. Then she took her glasses, which had slipped between the pillows and sat them up. Slowly she straightened up and yawned loudly. "Sorry, sweetie, I'm not from the military. Do you think it's close to 7 o'clock?" She asked tiredly.

"Yes, I mean that. I have to be on time at my workstation." Continue urging Seven Root.

"All right sweetie, I'm writing you an apology for today for the captain, lie down and relax today."

"Root?!?" Seven asked worriedly, as she could not do anything with it.

"Alright, give me a minute." Root pushed her laptop away from her body and crawled slightly tense from her bed. With only a tank top and a boxer shorts on, she quickly pulled out a hoodie in a pile of laundry and pulled it over. Then she slipped into her bunny slippers and ruffled through her tangled hair.

"Did you sleep well?" Asked Root, as she wavered a little unsteady and shaky, down the hall to the open the hatch with Seven.

"When I woke up I was disoriented and not as rested as after a regeneration. However, I will be doing more exercises in this area to compare. Only then can I tell you in detail if I slept well." Seven replied and Root gave her a big grin.

"Yes that is a good idea. Will you come back tonight?"

"Correct" Seven replied immediately. Then, as the doctor's social rules came to her mind, she backed up. "If I may?"

"Yes, surely you can. Come over whenever you want. We will then quickly make you an access permit, then you can come any time, whenever you want. Put your hand on it." asked Root Seven pointed to her right hand.

Seven put her right hand on the handheld scanner and Root quickly entered a code. "So now you have to look in here with your right eye and it's done." Explained Root. After Seven's eye was also scanned, Root entered several codes. Then she smiled happily at Seven.

"Well, now you can come over anytime. I just think of something. Can you wait another moment?" Seven nodded her head and Root hurried back to her bedroom.

"Can you please give this to the captain? Just tell her we met in the corridor. She does not need to know that you have sleeped at me. Tell her I asked you to bring her that because I'm very busy today. Could you please do that for me? "Root asked and gave Seven the data disc with the plans for the holoprojector.

"I'll give it to the captain." Seven answered as Root finally opened the hatch. But before she could leave the spaceship, Root pulled her into her arms and squeezed her gently. "Have a nice day." She said softly and let Seven go again.

Seven blinked uncertainly, then smiled back a small smile. "Thanks." She said before she left.

Root closed the opening hatch and went back to her bedroom. For the past night and all night, Root had been working on codes and calculations, so that now, completely exhausted, with her hoodie still on, she slipped back under her covers and cuddled herself into it. Shortly thereafter, she fell asleep again and overslept most of the day.


	12. Chapter 12

Kathryn sat in her ready room and looked thoughtfully at her workstation. Again and again her thoughts returned to yesterday evening. More specifically to Root. Root, who had only been on board for 3 days and had completely messed up her own emotional life. Root grinning at her cheekily, winking at her, giving her a seductive smile. Root, who had kissed her twice before, and worse, told her she did not have to be lonely. That she wanted to show her how hot she was. Remembering how Root had whispered that in her ear, Kathryn still ran a warm shudder through her body to her crotch. A pleasant and yet very disturbing feeling.

Before Root came, Kathryn thought often at Seven. Seven, who had been aboard Voyager for nearly two years. Kathryn had been drawn to Seven for months. The more she grew in her humanity the more, Kathryn had fallen in love with her. And when the Borg Queen then forced Seven to return to the Borg, Kathryn had painfully admitted that she was in love with Seven and did not want to live without her on her ship. Therefore, she had done everything in her power to bring Seven back from the Borg and save her a second time.

But she was the captain and could not afford a relationship. Certainly not with crew member. And Seven was so young and so innocent and inexperienced in many. She was not ready for a relationship yet. That proved her experience, a few weeks ago, when she and Lt. Chapman had an appointment for dinner. The date was more than awry. And it hurt Kathryn in her heart that Seven had such a screwed-up date. Had she known about this date, she would have done anything to make the date nice for Seven. Seven deserved to be happy.

Unfortunately, Kathryn admitted deep inside her, Seven could never be happy with her. She was too much of a Starfleet and a Captain she could or did not want for a relationship.

Suddenly her door buzz buzzed. Kathryn looked up and called "Come in"

To her surprise, Tuvok appeared in her ready room and stepped to her desk.

"Captain, there's something I need to discuss with you." Tuvok said shortly, explaining his presence.

"What is it?" Kathryn asked, indicating Tuvok to sit down.

"I noticed an energy fluctuation in the main computer 3 days ago." Tuvok explained, but when Kathryn still looked at him clueless, he spoke it out more clearly. "I think that Root had to do to the main computer."

Kathryn frowned. "What makes you think that?" She asked her oldest friend, whom she had on Voyager, seriously.

"Well, she arrived just 3 days ago, and by the time I noticed the energy swings, she also had the opportunity to approach the main computer unhampered as no security team followed and guarded her at that time. Before I wanted to tell you, I wanted to investigate more closely. But in the last 2 days there have been no further energy fluctuations in main computers anymore." Tuvok explained emotionlessly.

"What do you suggest, how we proceed?" Kathryn asked.

"I would like to continue to monitor Root. Of course not official, but only unofficial. I'd like to find out why she got access to the main computer." Tuvok explained.

"Just as I know you Tuvok, have you got everything underway and have Root already shadowed?" Kathryn asked.

"Correct, Captain." Tuvok answered shortly.

"And, what has happened so far?" Kathryn asked curiously.

"I wrote you a report on this." Tuvok said, handing the data padd to Kathryn what he had been holding in his hand so far. Then he got up and said goodbye to Kathryn.

Kathryn immediately took the data padd and read it through.

Kathryn felt miserable after reading that Root and Seven had spent a night together in Roots spaceship. What kind of game did Root play? Why did Root flirt with her and then go to Seven? Had Root Sevens exploited inexperience and naivety and spent a night with her?

Kathryn shifted restlessly on her chair, trying to calm down and clear her mind. But nothing she did helped her. So she got up and left her ready room. She looked at Chakotay on the bridge and wondered if she could really sit next to him and focus on her work.

She quickly admitted that she could not. So she handed Chakotay the bridge and set off for Seven in Astrometry. She had to make absolutely sure that Seven was fine. Maybe she would also learn what Seven and Root had done last night.

*************************

When Kathryn stood outside the doors of astrometry, she first smoothed her uniform and tried to regain control. Thinking that she was well in control, she headed for the doors of astrometry and they hissed open for her.

As she entered, Seven immediately turned to face her. "Captain, what can I do for you?" She asked, as always emotionless.

"I just came over to discuss the shore leave with you. What areas we should release to the crew and where we need to ban them?" Kathryn replied, feeling more stupid now. What had she thought of coming here? Did she think she would watch Seven if she had spent her first night with someone else?

Kathryn studied Seven closely and could not tell the difference. She looked the same as she always did and behaved as usual. If she really had her first sexual experience, Kathryn could not tell.

Seven entered various codes on her work console and she showed Kathryn which areas were recommended on Antrie and which had to be avoided because they were too dangerous for the crew.

After the two women had discussed everything about the shore leave, Seven remembered the data disc that Root had given her this morning, to give it the captain.

"Captain, Root asked me to give you this." Seven said as she took the data disc from her console and handed it to Kathryn.

Kathryn picked up the data disc and looked attentively at Seven. "Thanks, nice of you to give me the data disc. So you've already seen Root today?" Kathryn asked innocently, hoping to get more information from Seven.

"That's correct." said Seven, but she fidgeted a bit, which was very untypical for her.

"Seven, I'm curious, what do you think about our new guest?" Kathryn asked openly because she was tired of talking about the bush.

Seven thought about the captain's question. In the beginning, she found Root uncanny because Root flirted openly with her, but then Root had offered her a place of retreat and helped her to successfully complete the procedure of sleeping. Likewise, she had not flirted with her, just called her sweetie. Which was nice, as Seven thought.

"Acceptable" Seven answered briefly.

"Acceptable? What do you mean Seven? "Kathryn asked irritated.

Seven searched her head for the right description of how Root found her. "Nice and friendly, I mean." Seven said after a little while and Kathryn still looked at her irritated.

Do you think someone nice and friendly with whom you had your first sexual experience, she wondered inside? No, certainly not, these were the wrong words. Relieved, Kathryn sighed and smiled at Seven. So nothing happened between the two of them. Or was she wrong? The doubt gnawed at Kathryn.

"I find Root interesting and unpredictable." Kathryn admitted after a moment. "I am curious what we will experience with her on board. Thank you for giving me the data disc. I'll take a look at them right now." Kathryn said, running her hand over Seven's upper arm before she left.

Seven watched Kathryn wistfully. She always enjoyed it very much, this little physical exchange. She would love to be as brave as Root and want to touch her captain the same way. But Seven was too afraid of the captain's reaction. Sighing heavily, Seven turned back to her work console and started working again.


	13. Chapter 13

Root was sitting with her glasses on her nose, for a while in the medical department of her spaceship, looking straight through a microscope, trying to filter out the various components of the substance that interested her. As soon as she found out something, she immediately wrote it down on a piece of paper she had next to her.

As she heard footsteps in the corridor, she looked up from her microscope.

"Hello sweetie, how was your day?" She asked Seven as soon as she stood in front of her.

"Efficient" she answered curtly and stood next to Root and looked with interest to what she did. "What are you doing?" She asked Root.

"Oh, I'm trying to find the ingredients out of these powders. I would like to replicate it. But I have to figure out the composition for that." Explained Root.

Seven looked at her blankly. "Why do not you ask the doctor to help you? He has the right equipment for it. What you have" Seven pointed to the microscope "seems to be very inefficient." Seven said.

Root grinned at her. "If I asked the doctor for help, he would want to know more about it and that's not what I want. It's none of his business and it will take longer, but it will work anyway. Anyway, I hope so." Root said the last part mumbling.

But Seven had heard it anyway. "If it does not work, will you ask the doctor for help?" She asked.

Root sighed heavily. "I do not want to ask the doctor for help, no matter how this works."

"Why do not you want his help?" Seven asked.

"I do not like doctors very much, that's why. Can you please stop asking me a hole in my stomach?" Root asked quietly and Seven looked at her in confusion.

"Sorry" Seven said stiffly, bowing her head and dropping her shoulders. "I should go and not disturb you anymore." she said and turned around.

"Hey wait. Sorry sweetie, please, that was not meant. I just do not want to talk about this topic anymore. OK? But otherwise you will not disturb me at all. Please stay, yes?" Root asked, taking Seven's hand in her hand and gently stroking Seven's back with her thumbs.

In Seven, a pleasant warmth spread and she nodded her head.

Root smiled happily at her. "Your day was so efficient. What did you do?" She asked Seven with a wry grin and released Seven Hand.

"The Antrans have signed up and allowed us to replenish our supplies on their planet and allow the crew to do shore leave there. The captain intends to stay in orbit for a week. There is a rotation plan for the crew who is allowed to take land leave. The captain has assigned me to explore different locations and make a plan where to go on shore leave." Explained Seven eagerly.

"Do you also do shore leave?" Root asked curiously.

"No, I do not need a shore leave, that's an inefficient use of my time." Seven replied. Root looked at her sadly.

"Hm ... I've only been here for a few days, but now the blanket is already falling on my head. I'm definitely going to visit Antrie, if only because I want to fix my spaceship and then go home. Maybe I'll stay on the surface for a few days." Root said before turning back to her microscope.

"What do you mean by * dropping the blanket on your head *?" Seven asked after a moment, searching for that phrase in her cortical node database and not getting a good answer.

Root looked up again and looked at Seven gently. "That's what you say when you feel constrained. If you were inside too long and you want to get back in the fresh air. I miss the sun and the fresh air. I come from the earth, every time you look out the window, you see days the sun or the clouds and at night the stars and the moon. But if you look out of a window, then you only look at a complete emptiness and passing stars because of the warp drive." Root said sadly.

"If you get what you need to fix your spaceship, will you really travel alone to the Alpha Quadrant on your own?" Seven asked.

"That's my plan. The Captain finds the plan insane. But I think it's a good plan. What do you think?" Asked Root back.

Seven thought about it. "I think the captain is right." she said shortly, and a smile spread over Roots face.

"It was clear you hold to the captain." she replied with a grin.

Seven looked at her irritated. "Why was that clear? Explain that, please." She asked.

"Do you know what happens when a duckling chick emerges from the egg?" Root asked instead of answering Seven.

Seven confusedly lifted her eyepiece implant and looked at Root in amazement.

"The duckling follows the one it first sees. That means it either follows his mother or something else. No matter what it follows, for the duckling, it is his mother. And so are you. You first saw the captain and now you follow her like a duckling chick. Only at some point will little ducklings become ducks and then they will go their own way." Declared Root and Seven now frowned.

"The captain is not my mother." Seven replied angrily.

Root got up and took Seven's hand in hers. "I know that she is not your mother. I'm sorry, it was a wrong comparison. Please excuse me and forget what I said." Root asked softly.

"I can not forget what you said. It's stored in my Cortical Knot." Seven said seriously.

"Is your cortical node something like a storage disk?" Root asked curiously.

"That's correct." Seven replied and felt uncomfortable with this conversation.

"So you've stored in your mind all the knowledge you have gained while you were with the Borg and now here at Voyager?"

"That's correct." Seven answered, putting her hands on her back and stiffening noticeably.

Root looked at her with a fascinated look. "Do you think there's a way to visit the Borg without being assimilated?" Root asked, interested.

Seven looked at her in horror. "No, this possibility does not exist. They would assimilate you immediately. Why do you want to visit her?" Seven asked excitedly.

"They are interesting. Does an assimilation hurt?"

Seven's gaze was remembered, painful to her own assimilation.

"It was the most painful thing I've ever experienced. And yet I have done the same to many thousands of individuals. I feel guilty about that, but the captain tells me over and over that I'm not guilty, because at the time I was a Borg drone and could not think and act independently. Nevertheless, my feelings of guilt do not go away." Seven said quietly and agonized in her tone.

Root gave her a depressed look and took Seven's left hand in her hand, gently stroking her thumb over Seven's Implanted Hand.

"May I see your assimilation tubes?" Root asked quietly and looked at Seven gently.

Seven swallowed, twice. "Are not you afraid of it?"

"I'm not afraid of you, so do not I afraid of one of your implants." Root said calmly and sensitively. "It's a part of you and I think you would never hurt me. You are no longer a Borg drone, but a sensitive and friendly young woman who does not want to hurt anyone anymore. That's why I trust you."

Seven looked ashamed at Root, so far none of the Captain and Naomi had thought so friendly of and about Seven.

Seven took her hand out of Root's hand and shortly afterwards her assimilation tubes snaked out of the backs of her hands. Root looked at her spellbound and reached out to touch her. But Seven pulled away her Borghand and looked at Root worriedly.

"Not." She said excitedly.

"Sweetie, everything is okay. I just want to touch her, not anymore." Root said softly and held out her hand in front of Seven.

Seven held her Borghand close to her and the assimilation tubes snaked onto Roots palm.

Root smiled at Seven. "They feel warm. Quite different than I expected. Thanks for showing them to me." Root said and took her hand back.

Seven assimilation tubes retreated back into the back of her hands and Seven put her two hands on her back, looking at Root in embarrassment.

Root got up quickly and took Seven in her arms and hugged her friendly. After a moment, she released Seven and smiled at her.

"I have to work a bit further here, but if you like we can do something together later." Root said.

"I do not want to bother you with what you do. I could help you though." offer Seven.

"Thanks, that's nice of you sweetie, but you've been working all day today, you should rest and do something you enjoy." Root said.

"I do not know what I enjoy." Seven said sadly.

"Oh, no problem, just give me a moment and I'll help you figure out what you like and what you enjoy." Root said, giving Seven a challenging grin. Seven nodded her head and then went to her bedroom to let Root work in peace.


	14. Chapter 14

Root knocked on Seven's sleeping chamber and waited for Seven to open it.

"Hello sweetie, I'm done. Do you already have an idea what you could enjoy?" Asked Root interested.

"No, I also worked and read a few more reports. That's fun for me." Seven said and Root looked at her crookedly.

"Oh sweetie, I think you really need someone to show you what's really fun. Say, what are the other people doing aboard to have fun?"

"They spend time at the holodeck or they meet in the mess and talk." Seven replied.

"Hm ... the holodeckt sounds pretty good. Do you have any wish what we want to do on the holodeck?"

"With Captain Janeway, I sometimes play Velocity. I would like to play that." Seven said.

"Explain the game to me, I do not know it. Normally, I am rarely in the holodeck. I prefer to see things in real life."

"Velocity is played in pairs on the holodeck. In the process, a disk flying through the room is bombarded with phasers, so that the disk suddenly changes direction and color. The player hit by the disc when it has its color has lost. Velocity is generally played in ten sets." Explained Seven, almost as if she had read it from a game manual.

"Okay, sounds interesting. Let's go, I'll just get my things quickly." With that, Root turned and went to her bedroom. There she quickly picked out a few things that she found fit for sports.

"Let's go." she said a short time later as she returned from her bedroom.

*******************

Both women are lucky, because coincidentally a holodeck was free, which they could use immediately. Seven had saved enough replicator rations so she could rent the holodeck for 2 hours.

After both women had changed into their sportswear, Seven quickly explained the rules again. Root listened attentively and nodded her head that she had understood everything.

However, as soon as the game started, Root stepped into the left corner of the board, so she was protected from the back, left and right and barely moved. And though she remained so immobile, Seven had a hard time scoring, as Root eased any attack on the playing disc with ease and hit the target exactly each time, hitting Seven again. Seven jumped around on the field and tried to dodge the disk and send it back to Root. However, after Seven had been hit several times, despite doing everything as she always did, she glared at Root and stopped the game.

Root looked at her curiously.

"You're playing the game wrong." Seven said frustrated.

"Can not be, I'm following exactly the rules you explained to me earlier." Root said, looking innocently at Seven.

"But you do not move, you just stand here in the corner and shoot at the game disk as it approaches you. Velocity is a game where you have to move, you have to dodge the disk and not stand in the corner." Seven said reproachfully.

"Sweetie, you're only angry because I win, even though I do not move the way you do. Look, you can just as well stand here and shoot down the disc, instead of running back and forth and avoiding the disc constantly." Explained Root calmly.

Seven blinked at her in confusion. Root was right, she had been standing in the corner the whole time, shooting down the target every time without dodging her. So dodging was pointless, though you could just as easily stand where you were and then shoot down the target with a close-up shot.

Resigned, Seven sighed. "You're right." she admitted softly.

"Hey honey, do not mind, next time you play with the captain, you can do it the way you always do. Do you like to try another game? I know, there's one thing that will be a lot of fun for you." Root said, watching Seven eagerly.

"What's the name of this game?" Seven asked immediately interested.

"It's called Lasertag, is an old game from the 21st century, it's a lot of fun. Wait, I have a data chip in my backpack for it." Root went to the bank where she had previously dropped her backpack and rummaged around in it. After a while she had found the data chip and happily showed it to Seven.

"Ready to go?" She asked excitedly. Seven nodded her head and Root put the data chip in the dedicated module. Shortly thereafter, the holodeck changed and Seven and Root were now in a hall, with many obstacles.

"What are the rules?" Asked Seven.

Root took two Lasertag vests from a stand and gave one of them Seven while putting on a vest. "This is your vest, it's stocked with multiple sensors on your back, front, and shoulders. Do you see this?" Asked Root, pointing to the various sensors that were scattered on the vest. 

Then she took a laser tag phaser and gave it to Seven.

"This is what you shoot, the aim of the game is to hit your opponent as often as possible in a given time with the Laser Tag Phaser. The vest counts the hits and at the end the result is evaluated. To make the game more exciting, you can still select different missions. For example, each of us must bring a certain object safely to the destination, and be hit as little as possible by the opponent Phaser. What do you say, should we try it?" Asked Root Seven and looked at Seven eagerly. Seven thought hard what Root had told her and then nodded her head. "Yes." she said then.

Root smiled happily at her. "Great, okay let's first decide how long we want to play and which arena we'll take. There are several arenas that have different difficulty levels. We will have so much fun together." Root said cheerfully and was already looking forward to the game. Seven looked at her in surprise and raised her eyepiece implant.

"Do not worry, it will be fun. Let's limit the time to an hour. That should be enough and we should take the outdoor arena. There are more options. Would you like to play in a team with me or should we be enemies?"

"Together in a team." Decided Seven and Root grinned at her joyfully.

"Okay, let's start the mission. Computer starts the game."

*******************

After Root and Seven had been playing Lasertag for an hour and had sometimes gone out of the way of an opposing team to bring their object well protected to its destination, both women sat exhausted at the destination.

Root looked over to Seven, who bravely and very trickily made herself a team partner during the game. Her strict hairstyle had been broken up during the game and she had several dirty spots on her laser day equipment. Root thought she looked very sweet in it, so she looked at Seven admiringly.

As Seven's breathing became more regular, she looked over at Root.

"And how did you like it?" Root asked her eagerly.

"It was very eventful, exciting and also challenging." Explained Seven.

"And did you have fun?" Asked Root and did not let up.

Seven grinned at Root and nodded her head. "Yes." Said Seven and Root could not help but pull Seven into a hug and squeeze her cordially. To Root's surprise, Seven gave the hug back this time.

Root broke from his embrace after a moment. "Let's go back to the spaceship. I need a shower, how about you?"

"Yes." Seven said, stripping off her laser tagging gear. After Root had finished the program and put the data disc back in their backpack, both left the holodeck.


	15. Chapter 15

As they both stepped into the hall, they almost collided with B'Elanna and Tom, who were now ready to use the vacated holodeck.

Root looked at B'Elanna interested from top to bottom and then smiled. "Hello." She said pleased and B'Elanna and Tom looked at Root and Seven in astonishment, as they both looked very disheveled from their laser tag game.

"You look like you had fun." said Tom and Root grinned at him. "Yes, we did too. You also have fun." Root said back and then went with Seven in the direction of the turbolift.

"Who was that?" Asked Root Seven.

"That was the Lt. B'Elanna Torres and Lt. Tom Paris." Seven replied emotionlessly.

"Friends of you?" Asked Root, squinting at Seven. In Roots head she let the data about B'Elanna Torres appear in her mind's eye and went through the corner points. B'Elanna Torres half Klingon, half human, works as a chief engineer on the USS Voyager. Born in 2346 in the Federation colony Kessik IV. After being inducted into the Starfleet Academy, due to her uncontrolled nature, due to her Klingon heritage, she was subject to four disciplinary proceedings against her and she was once suspended. Due to many differences with her professors, she dropped out of training early. After leaving Starfleet Academy, she joined the Maquis to fight the Cardassians.

"No" Seven said stiffly and walked down the aisle to the turbolift.

"Why not?" Root asked with interest as they reached the turbolift and entered it together.

"Lt. Torres, has a profound aversion to my person. For one thing, because I served the Borg and thus loaded a lot of guilt on me. On the other hand, she considers me cold, emotionless and exhausting. She reluctantly approves of me in her engine room. It regularly comes to clashes between the Lt. Torres and me. Whereby Lt. Torres begins the dispute and hopes to trick me into getting in, so I get in trouble." Explained Seven a trace too emotionless and Root frowned at her from the side. It hurt her heart, the Seven of Lt. Torres was seen and treated like that.

"I'm sorry sweetie. I just thought she looks nice, but now I think somebody should give her the opinion." Root replied gravely, as they both drove the turbolift to Hangar Deck 1.

************************

"Sweetie, do you want to take a shower first, or should I first?" Asked Root as the two were back in Roots spaceship.

"You go first, I'll wait that long." Seven said and went to her bedroom to read through the data she had uploaded to her data pad.

"Okay, whatever you want. Then I can prepare something for dinner while you take a shower." Root said and hopped to the bathroom with some things she held onto her arm. Shortly thereafter, Seven heard the sound of water and looked horrified in the direction of the bathroom.

About half an hour later, Root, still wet, in a hoodie and jeans, appeared in Seven's bedroom.

"The shower is free, it's your turn." She said lightly and turned around and headed for the kitchen area. Seven hurried after her.

"I do not know how to shower in a hydro shower." she explained uncertainly.

Root looked at her and had to grin. "Good, I also have a sound shower." she said and Seven let out a relieved sigh. "Yes, that's good." She said and turned to the bathroom.

************************

Now that Seven had showered and stepped out of the bathroom again in her organic suit, Root offered her a plate of food. Seven looked skeptical. "What's that?" She asked immediately.

"Sweetie, that's spaghetti with tomato sauce. It tastes pretty good, come on, at least try it before you refuse it. Okay?" Root asked softly and sat next to Seven at the small kitchen table.

Seven murmured "Okay" and watched Root as she started to roll up her spaghetti on her fork with a spoon to help.

Seven followed suit and then gently pushed her fork with the spaghetti into her mouth. Then she chewed and her expression lifted clearly after she realized that what she had in her mouth tasted quite good.

Root grinned happily. "Good, is not it?" She said and Seven nodded her head, "Yes" she said after swallowing her food. Both then ate their food quietly until Seven suddenly set aside her fork and spoon.

Root looked at her in surprise. "What's wrong, sweetie?" She asked worriedly.

"I'm full, I can not eat anymore. My abdominal implant is not designed to handle a large amount of solid food." explained Seven embarrassed.

"Okay, I'm actually already full. I will clean up quickly. If you like, we can sit and talk a little bit in my bedroom." Root said, hoping Seven would feel like it.

"Acceptable." Seven said, smiling at Root. Root returned the smile and then put the plates in the replicator to recycle.

Then both women went to Roots bedroom, where Root sat comfortably on the bed, and Seven suggested she do the same. Seven see interested in Roots bedroom.

"You are very messy." She honestly said what Seven Art was like. To her surprise, Root laughed and nodded her head.

"Yeah, you're right, I'm not so orderly. At home, I have someone who clears everything up after me and makes sure it does not get too deserted." Root said wistfully, missing her housekeeper Cloe very much. She had become not only her housekeeper but also a friend and something like a mother replacement for Root in recent years.

"You have someone to clean up for you?" Seven asked in astonishment.

"Yes, my housekeeper. She is allowed to tidy everything except my study. She can not go in there because I have a lot lying around, as I need it. And if this mess should be cleared, I would not find anything I needed. Therefore, there is a restricted zone." explained Root smiling.

"Who is the woman in this photo?" Seven asked, after discovering the image beside Roots bed.

"That's Sameen." Root said softly. Seven looked at her curiously and waited for Root to tell her more about Sameen. But Root just looked at the picture and said nothing.

Seven reached out an uncertain hand and put it on Roots shoulder and gently stroked it. She had often watched the gesture with the captain when she wanted to build a crewmember or comfort him. Seven herself had already received this gesture from the Captain several times, and she felt like it, always a little better.

Root put her hand on Seven's hand and squeezed it lightly, smiling at her with sad eyes.

"Let's change the subject, okay sweetie?" Root asked quietly and Seven nodded her head.

"Why do you always call me sweetie?" Seven asked immediately to change the subject and also because she wanted to know it.

"Because you're a very special person, that's why." Root said, smiling warmly at Seven.

"But why you know that I'm a special person? Is it because I'm Borg?" Seven asked.

"No, that's not it. I can tell by your aura that you are special." Explained Root and Seven looked confused.

"Aura? What's that, please explain that to me." asked Seven.

"The aura is a concept of esotericism and describes a color spectrum that surrounds the body like a cloud. This colorful energy field provides information about the character of a person, other colors can reflect current moods and emotions. And your aura is so strong and shining in yellow and pink. These are good color auras. Yellow tells me that you are smart and clever, work hard, learn quickly and have a strong will. And Rosa tells me that you are friendly, loving, caring and a kind person." Root explained.

"Why i can´t see aura?" Seven asked in confusion.

"Not every person can do that, I can not always do it. Only with someone very special, as with you I can see the aura." Said Root and grinned at Seven wide.

Root and Seven talked for a long time about the auras, their different colors and meanings. On this topic, they came to the spirituality of different cultures and their impact on the respective stages of development of each culture.

Seven realized after a while that she enjoyed sitting with Root and philosophizing and chatting with her. It was a little different from the conversations with the Captain. When she visited the captain and discussed with her important topics that interested Seven, it was more serious and marked by a mentor-student atmosphere. But here with Root, she felt at once equal and she was also much more relaxed.  
Root made her feel good, no question Seven had, was ignored or answered with discomfort, but free and open. That pleased Seven very much.

On the other hand, Seven sometimes had at the Captain's feeling that the captain was not always speaking freely and openly with her. But kept some of her away. Only the captain knew the reasons, but Seven guessed the captain was not mature enough to talk to her about certain issues. Or that the captain himself was uncomfortable with different topics and therefore did not want to or could not talk about it openly.

************************

After sitting together for hours, Seven said goodbye to Root and went to her bedroom to perfect her sleep. But when she was in a comfortable position in her bed, the cuddly toy cuddled up to her and her eyes closed, she just did not want to sleep as she had the night before. Her thoughts wandered too much, between Root and the Captain and the events of the day.

Frustrated when sleep still did not set after an hour, Seven got up and left her bedroom, knocking on Roots bedroom.

A soft "Come in" came from inside and Seven entered. Root was sitting in her bed and her laptop was on her knees. She had her glasses on and looked at Seven with surprise.

"Hey sweetie, are you okay?" She asked worriedly.

Seven walked embarrassed into the bedroom and fidgeted a little. "Sleep does not want to come today. I do not know what I'm doing wrong. I need help." Seven quietly confessed and lowered her head embarrassed. She was absolutely embarrassed that she could not master this task to her satisfaction today.

Root smiled warmly at her and patted her bed. "Come, make yourself comfortable by me."

Seven immediately crawled under Roots duvet and lay down in a comfortable position and pressed the cuddly toy to itself. During that, Root turned off her laptop and put it aside, as did her glasses. Then she switched off her small bedside lamp and also slipped into a comfortable position under her blanket.

"Sleep well and dream sweet things." Root said and pressed a soft kiss on Seven's forehead in the dark, before she even closed her eyes and let her thoughts wander.

Seven closed her eyes as well, and without realizing it she fell asleep almost immediately.


	16. Chapter 16

When Seven was awakened by her inner chronometer at 6:15 am after a few hours, she was surprised that she had managed to fall asleep.

She was also surprised how much her sleeping position had changed. To her surprise, Root lay half on her torso. Roots head was snuggled against Seven's right breast and Roots right hand was on Sevens left chest.

A warmth immediately spread in Seven's body and she felt very comfortable in that position she was lying in. So far she had never experienced so much physical contact in her life. And when she realized that this felt very good, she had to smile softly.

For a moment, Seven allowed herself that pleasant sense of closeness, before she nudged Root and quietly begged her to wake up.

"Root?"

"Hm ..." it came back from the sleeping woman.

"I have to get up and start my ministry." Seven tried to explain. "I have to push you off my body."

Root blinked her eyes confused and immediately perceived the overall situation. Quickly she straightened up and looked at Seven sleepy and embarrassed.

"Sorry sweetie, I did not ... I did not want you ..., I'm sorry ..." Root muttered apologetically. But Seven smiled warmly at her.

"You do not have to apologize. I enjoyed it a lot and I would like to continue exploring the procedure of cuddling, but now I have to get up and start my duty." Seven said kindly.

Root looked at Seven with a wry smile and pulled her into her arms, squeezing her lightly. "Okay, see you tonight again?"

"No, tonight I have to regenerate in my alcove." Seven sighed.

"Okay, how about we meet for lunch today? I would like to try Neelix cooking skills. I came across his program "Briefing with Neelix" and found it funny and very informative, I would like to get to know him."

"Acceptable." Seven answered and crawled out of bed.

"Fine, then I wish you a nice working day. Be nice!" Root said and winked at her.

Seven smiled broadly at her then left the sleeping chamber.

Root immediately set an alarm clock and snuggled back into her blanket and fell asleep again a little later.

*******************

After rooting out of bed several hours later and getting ready for the day, Root left her spaceship and headed for the infirmary.

Once there, she immediately met the doctor, who greeted her cheerfully and questioned her about the reason for her being here.

"I have a problem doctor and unfortunately I can not solve it without your help. I need medicine because my medicine is slowly running out and I can not replicate a new one." Declared Root frustrated.

Her yesterday's research, which elements her tablet exactly included, was unfortunately very unsuccessful. Which is why she gave up after a while and then decided to trust the doctor as soon as possible. Since she had just taken a pill, only a handful of tablets remained in the tablet box. However, she knew from experience that this supply would last only until the next morning.

The doctor looked at her worriedly and immediately took out his tricorder. Root told him to scan her heart. After a moment of scanning, the doctor looked up, shaken by his tricorder.

"You have heart failure." He said and looked at Root closely. "When I examined you here a few days ago in the infirmary, I escaped this. I was too focused on your other injuries. We should operate on your heart as soon as possible." The doctor said businesslike.

But Root shook her head. "No, that's why I'm not here. I want to leave my heart as it is, I refuse an operation. I'm here to ask you for medicine so that I feel better." Root said and did not really want to have this discussion with the Doctor of Voyager. Already on Earth, she had led countless of these discussions with her family doctor and so far she had always been able to convince him that she refused surgery on her heart and would never give her consent.

The doctor looked at Root horrified. "You refuse surgery, although that would optimize your life in many ways and you could live your life normally?" The doctor asked stunned.

"Yeah right, you got it exactly." Root said looking challengingly at the doctor. "Will you help me and give me new pills or will I have to look for another doctor who can help me?" She asked and her expression was more than serious and determined.

The doctor sighed deeply before answering. "I will help you. But I have to say that in my opinion an operation would be most efficient and should be done as soon as possible."

Root smiled warmly at the doctor. "Thank you, Doctor, I'm glad that you agree to help me. I heard your objections and now ..." Root sighed "Maybe I'll be ready to operate at some point. But right now I'm not."

"May I ask why you do not want to be operated on?"

Root sighed again and looked past the doctor before returning her gaze to the doctor. "It's my heart and as it is, it's okay. I'm just not ready to do anything about it. I want it to be just as it is because ..." Root stopped, wondering how she could explain it exactly.

"Because I'm scared that I could feel different if it's changed." Root said quietly, looking sadly at the doctor. "I know that's nonsense, but it's just how I feel and think."

The doctor looked at Root sympathetically. "As long as you're aboard Voyager, however, I expect you to contact me daily so I can keep track of your health. May I please see the tablets you have been taking?" He asked and Root looked at him stunned.

"Doctor, that will not work," Root replied, handing him her tablet can. "I can not come over here every day. Would not it be possible to come by once a week? My GP on the earth watches over me with a small heart monitor that I always have to carry with me and as soon as it comes to large irregularities of my heart activities, he is with me in a matter of seconds."

The doctor had meanwhile scanned the tablets with his tricorder and had the computer do an analysis.

"Well, we can do it this way, do you still have this heart monitor?" The doctor asked.

Root smiled happily at him. "Yes, I did." She reached into her pocket and pulled out the small heart monitor, which was no bigger than a coin, and handed it to the doctor.

The doctor took the heart monitor and looked at it. "You just have to connect it to your computer terminal and I have to attach it to my heart. More is not needed." Root explained and took the heart monitor back to itself. Then she put him under her sweater and put it right over her heart. Once the cardiac monitor had been placed in place, several small tubes emerged from it, drilled into Roots skin and connected to their hearts. However, since they were very thin, they did not cause any pain. Root turned to the work console. "May I?" She asked the doctor and he nodded to her.

Root flew quickly with her fingers over the individual computer keys and entered the necessary code, so that the work console with their heart monitor linked. After another moment, a file appeared on the work console, which Root clicked and then showed the doctor. The doctor looked at the file and immediately analyzed the data sent from the heart monitor to the work console. Satisfied, he turned to Root and smiled at her.

"This will work, but I'd like to see you here and examine you at least every three days." the doctor replied.

Root looked at him in frustration. "Is that really necessary?" She asked annoyed and rolled her eyes.

"Yes, it is necessary for me to keep an eye on your health. How do you feel today?"

Root sighed annoyed. "Sleepy and exhausted, but I took my tablet just half an hour ago. It will work soon and then I feel better." Root assured the doctor.

"Well, I want you to rest as much as you can and do no strenuous activities. If so, we will probably see each other more often than you like. The heart monitor will tell me everything." Explained Doctor Root.

Root nodded nicely and promised the doctor to rest a lot and not to do any strenuous activities. But as a precaution, she did not tell the doctor she knew how to manipulate her heart monitor, so the doctor did not always know when she was doing what strenuous activity.

The doctor then handed her another tray and Root said good-bye and set out to find Seven and have lunch with her.


	17. Chapter 17

Since Root did not want to search Seven all over the ship and she did not have much time to meet with Seven, she asked the computer on a computer button where she could find Seven.

"Seven of Nine is in the engine room." the computer replied emotionlessly.

Since only a few days ago she had looked closely at the various cover descriptions of Voyager, she quickly found the engine room. When she entered, she immediately saw Seven standing at a work console. Next to her was B'Elanna Torres, who was scolding Seven.

Root frowned and stepped quickly between the two women. At first she looked at Seven and realized immediately that the dispute between her and B'Elanna took her very much.

"Are you done here?" She asked Seven and as Seven nodded, Root gently stroked her arm. "Well, then go ahead, I'll catch up soon. Yes?" Seven nodded her head again, then hastily left the engine room.

As soon as Seven stepped out of the engine room, Root turned to B'Elanna and looked at her seriously. B'Elanna frowned at Root for meddling in the quarrel she'd had with Seven.

Since Root was a head taller than B'Elanna, she leaned down to B'Elanna's ear and whispered softly in "We'll sort it out later." Root said sweetly to B'Elanna, before she straightened up, turned around, and Seven went afterwards.

B'Elanna stared after her in astonishment, not quite sure what to do with the announcement. Her anger at Seven had died away. Was that a threat?

*********************************

Outside the doors of the engine room, Seven was waiting for Root.

"I'm already there sweetie, let's go for lunch." Root said as she walked out of the engine room a little later, smiling.

Seven looked at her with interest. "What happened?" She asked curiously.

Root grinned "Nothing, I have Lt. Torres only * hello * said. But tell me, what was going on before I came to you?" Asked Root.

As both women walked side by side to the turbolift, Seven recounted how she and B'Elanna once again came into conflict. Actually, it had only been a small thing, but for some reason B'Elanna had taken it as an opportunity to omit her frustration and anger at Seven.

Root listened sadly as Seven replayed the events and what had been said during the hassle. Her anger on Lt. Torres picked up and she vowed to sort it out with her as soon as possible. She just could not stand it anymore, the Lt. Torres omitted her lack of control of Seven. That was unacceptable and absolutely needed to be stopped.

*********************************

There was a lot of hustle and bustle in the mess hall, when Seven and Root entered. Seven immediately headed for the counter where Neelix spent the food, and Root ran after her.

When Neelix saw Seven and Root, he greeted them both very friendly and Root found Neelix adorable.

"Mr. Neelix, I am pleased to finally meet you. I watched her program "Briefing with Neelix" and found it quite exciting." Tell Root and Neelix glared at her.

"Oh, thank you." Neelix said blushing a bit. "Which episode did you find the best?" Neelix asked, looking at Root curiously.

"Mr. Neelix, your program is just always and always so exciting and interesting that I do not want to commit myself to a specific episode. All episodes are great." Root replied and smiled sweetly at Neelix. Neelix blushed even more and looked at Root radiantly.

"Mr. Neelix, what can you recommend to Seven and me for lunch today?" Root asked immediately.

"Today there is Leola root soup with a Leola root cake alla Tuvok for dessert or for all crew members who have a sensitive stomach, a potato soup with sausages." Explained Neelix happily.

Seven decided quickly on the potato soup with sausage, but insisted on having little to their plate. For one thing, because she had tasted the leola root soup before and found it terrible, and second, because she could not eat much solid food anyway.

Root, on the other hand, would have preferred an apple or something else light. Both dishes did not appeal to her. Neelix looked at Root worried, as she still had not decided.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Neelix, I can not decide well, both dishes look delicious." Root sighed heavily. "Maybe you also have a salad on offer?" She asked friendly and smiled gently.

"Yeah, sure, wait a minute and I'll get you everything and I'll make you a salad. Just give me a moment." Neelix said pleased that he could help Root. Quickly he ran into his kitchen and looked in his stock shelf for the various vegetables he had stored there.

In his zeal, he had not noticed that Root had gone after him and now stood behind him.

"Mr. Neelix I do not want to cause so much extra work for you. May I prepare the salad myself?" Asked Root and Neelix turned to her in surprise.

Root stood in Neelix's personal room and looked at him kindly. Neelix felt a sudden nervousness and he blushed again. So close, he had not confessed to a beautiful woman for a while. He quickly became very hot and hot and he began to sweat a little.

"Surely you can prepare your salad on your own." He said and swallowed, twice and stroked nervously through his cheek hairs.

Root smiled brightly at her. "Thank you, Mr. Neelix, that's so nice of you."

"Oh, please tell me Neelix."

"You're welcome, but only if you call me Root." Root said, and Neelix glared at Root.

"Yes, I would only like to do that."

"Great, let's do it that way." Root said, looking around curiously in the small kitchen. "What types of vegetables do you have in stock?"

"Everything we can plant in the Hydroponic and what we can buy on the various planets. Look, here's a little on the shelf."

"Oh, Neelix you have tomatoes and cucumbers. May I take something from that? "Root asked excitedly.

"Yes, of course, we still have Leola's roots, which are also good for a salad." Pries Neelix his secret weapon for everything.

Root gave him a friendly look, but then she took only two tomatoes and the cucumber from the shelf and put them on a chopping board and began to cut everything quickly small. Then she looked around for spices that stood nearby and seasoned her salad. Before she answered Neelix.

"Thank you Neelix, that's too kind of you, but I do not want to eat away your Leola rootstock to the other crewmembers." Root said apologetically.

"But no, I have so many Leola roots in stock, it would not be noticeable if you take a little bit for your salad." Neelix said pushing Root a Leola root on the cutting board.

"Neelix, that's really nice, but I do not want to keep Seven waiting too long. Afterwards her potato soup is still cold." Then she leaned down to Neelix, being a little bit smaller than Root, and pressed a kiss on his cheek. Next, Root grabbed her plate of salad and headed out of the kitchen and toward Seven.

Neelix watched to Root and his face lit up red. He suddenly felt completely fluffy and embedded in clouds. He stepped out of his kitchen with the Leola root and stared dreamily after Root.

Root and Seven picked a table in the back of the mess and as they sat down, Root looked over at Neelix and winked at him slightly. Neelix's legs almost gave out as he glared at Root. Luckily he could lean on the counter.

"How did you do that, you got a salad and did not have to take the existing food?" Asked Seven after the two had sat down.

"Oh, I flattered Neelix a bit, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and then everything was clarified." Root explained cheerfully, before she shoved herself a bit from the salad into her mouth.

"What does * clarified *?" Seven asked curiously and shoved a spoonful of potato soup into her mouth. Shortly thereafter she grimaced slightly and Root looked at her sympathetically. "Not good?" She asked.

"Acceptable." Seven said, but did not look like she was serious.

"Oh Sweetie, you're a bad liar. Here take my salad, it tastes better." Root shoved her salad to Seven and grabbed the potato soup. Seven frowned at her. "But you did not want to eat the potato soup." she said confused.

"Yeah, but I do not want you to have to eat them, even though you does not like it. That's what girlfriends do for each other." Explained Root and winked at Seven.

"We are friends?" She asked irritated.

"Yeah, well we are friends or do you think I would invite everyone into my spaceship to stay overnight? And * clarified* is the way that the thing is done or done as agreed. So after I flattered Neelix a bit, he could not say no to my request to prepare a salad myself." Root said and took a spoon full of potato soup in her mouth. She bravely swallowed the food, then pushed aside the plate of potato soup.

"You're right, it tastes * acceptable *" Root said, grinning at Seven. Seven grinned back and they both started to giggle slightly.

"Hello, may we sit down with you?" Suddenly asked Tom Paris, who was standing in front of the table. Beside him stood Harry Kim.

Root looked questioningly at Seven and when she nodded slightly, Root said to the two men, "Yes, that's fine. I'm Root and you are?" She asked the two, holding out her hand to them.

"I'm Tom and this is Ensign Harry Kim. Do you know what's going on with Neelix?" Tom asked after sitting down opposite Root and Seven. Harry sat down next to him.

Root and Seven looked conspiratorially before Root answered. "I just asked for a salad, nothing more. What about him?" She asked innocently looking and shrugging her shoulders.

"He looks a bit distracted and jumbled." Tom answered.

Quickly developed a conversation between Tom, Harry and Root about what Neelix has probably distracted. Seven saw and listened curiously to the conversation and admired how Root with the two men playfully developed different theories, which was probably going on with Neelix. Mentally, Seven made some notes to later discuss with Root about some questions she had.

When Harry had finished his potato soup, Root pushed him over her remaining potato soup and winked at him. Harry blushed immediately and thanked stuttering. Root smiled gently at him.

Suddenly, Seven nudged her and Root turned to her. "I'd like to go." Sevens whispered in her ear. Root nodded her head.

"Guys, it was nice to meet you. The work is calling, but I hope we'll meet again." Root said and winked at Harry, who then blushed a bit more. Tom grinned at his friend.

"Bye." Root said, waving goodbye to Tom and Harry. Both men returned the farewell and looked after the two women.

When Seven and Root came out of the mess hall, Root asked "Why did you want to leave, your break was not over yet, was it?"

"Lt. Torres had just entered the mess hall and she usually sits with Ensign Kim and Lt. Paris together at lunch. That's why I wanted to go." Seven replied softly.

"It's okay sweetie." Root said, smiling warmly at Seven.

"Seven, Root, nice to see you." Kathryn said as she bumped into them in the hallway before Mess.

"Root, I would like to talk to you about our trade later. It would be nice if you could get past my ready room." Kathryn said.

"I would like to come over. Is it okay around 3pm?" Asked Root.

"Yes, against 1500 would be good. See you later." Kathryn said, entering the mess hall as Seven and Root turned to the turbolift.

*********************************

"Hello gentlemen." Kathryn said as she stumbled upon Harry and Tom in the mess hall. "Harry, what about you?" Kathryn asked worried as Harry blushed and looked with shiny look.

"Oh, he just seems to have fallen in love again, Captain." Tom replied "And I think I know what's wrong with Neelix now" he said afterwards.

"What about Neelix?" Kathryn asked worriedly.

"He looks exactly like Harry and is a bit fussy and distracted on the way. I think Root also flirted with him, just as she did with Harry during lunch." Tom explained and Kathryn blushed as well.

She realized in one fell swoop that Root was probably flirting with everyone, not just her. How stupid she was to be addressed by Roots flirting. Kathryn really hoped she did not look as stupid as Harry.

Disappointed by this new realization, she said goodbye to the two men and went to Neelix to get a plate of potato soup with sausages for lunch.


	18. Chapter 18

After Root Seven had accompanied astrometry and gave her some information about Antrie and their monetary system, she returned to her spaceship.

Once there, she immediately took a holoprojector and searched out and projected the data discs, where a miniature heart had been reproduced. Then she scanned her heart rate with a tricorder and entered it into the holoprojector, so that the miniature heart also had the same heart rate as her own heart.

After doing so, she took the heart monitor from her heart and placed it on the miniature heart. Immediately, the thin tubes connected to the miniature hearts and transmitted to the doctor the heart rate data.

So the doctor would never realize that he was not getting the data transferred from their real heart and thus Root had her peace. As long as she always took her medication properly and did not exert too much effort, she would be fine and she would not need the doctor's help. Root just had to remember that they had to go to the doctor every 3 days and always have their heart monitor attached to their hearts.

*****************

Just in time for 15 clock Root was in front of the back door to the ready room of the Captain. When she had pressed the door buzzer and heard a "come in", she entered the captain's ready-made room with a peppy. She smiled friendly at the captain, but Kathryn made no move.

Kathryn had been thinking about Root and her flirts since lunch, and she felt miserable. For one thing, because she'd made a fool of herself in which she had Root granted and Kathryn had not rightfully pointed her out after Root had approached her so disrespectfully, and second, because she had really believed Root was interested for she. It was just a kind of game for them. Or? Kathryn had thought about it, the last 3 hours and the more she had thought about it, the worse her mood became.

Root immediately frowned and looked gravely at Kathryn. "What's going on?" She asked worriedly.

Kathryn was surprised that Root immediately realized what was going on. After all, Kathryn had not said anything yet, just looked at Root as she had entered her ready room.

"Captain?" Root asked when Kathryn still had not answered.

"Nothing is going on. What makes you think that?" Kathryn asked irritated and with an icy undertone.

"Now your tense posture, your commando mask you just put on when I entered the room, your eyes and your voice, all that tells me that's wrong. Please tell me what's wrong." asked Root softly looked at Kathryn gently.

Kathryn sighed heavily and ran her hand over her forehead. Was she so transparent and predictable?

"I think I saw through you. Your flirtations with me and what you have seen with it. And I'm very angry about how disrespectful you treated me. I am the captain of this ship and I am responsible for 140 crew members and the Voyager. I will not tolerate you fooling me and disrespecting me." Kathryn said icily.

Root silently looked at Kathryn and studied her closely before answering.

"What do you think I intend and how have I treated you disrespectfully?" She asked calmly, looking at Kathryn intently as she sat down on the chair, in front of her desk and crossed her legs.

"You flirted with me and ..." before Kathryn could continue, Root raised her hand and stopped Kathryn. She looked at her uncertainly.

"Wait a minute, I think I'd like to talk to Kathryn Janeway, not the captain. Because I flirted with you as a woman and not with you, in your position as captain. Maybe you remember, while I introduced you to my technology, I did not flirt with you because we were bartering partners at that time. I flirted with you before and in your quarters at dinner. However, in these moments, I perceived you as a woman, not as a captain or exchange partner. I did not flirt with you to get a better deal with you, but because you have intrigued and fascinated me as a woman." Confess Root calmly.

"Anyway, you're right, I flirted with you and I'm sorry that it makes you uncomfortable and you feel treated irreverent. It will not happen anymore. As soon as I got that on Antrie what I need to repair my spaceship, I will start my journey home. You wanted to talk to me about the trade." Root mentioned and came back to the barter business.

Kathryn blinked at her, confused, before she caught herself and returned to her commando mask.

"Yes, I can give you 70 Replicator Rations for your data disc via the holoprojector. I know this is not much, but unfortunately more is not possible." Kathryn said, expecting that Root would try to push the price higher.

"Thank you. That will be enough. I got information from Seven about the currency of the Antrans and with the 70 Replicator Rations, I will be able to replicate the required currency." Root said surprising Kathryn with it.

Kathryn nodded her approval and handed Root the data code containing the replicator rations. At the delivery, she touched Roots fingers. But Root immediately withdrew her hand after holding the data code. Then she got up and turned to the back door of the ready room. Just before she turned back and looked at Kathryn sadly.

"Thanks for your hospitality. If we do not see each other again, I wish you and your crew a safe journey home." Then she turned back and quickly left the ready room.

Kathryn looked after her, suddenly her heart ached and tears were gathering in her eyes, which she quickly wiped away with her hands.  
Inwardly she scolded herself for letting herself go. *Had she rated Root right or wrong?* Kathryn wondered, tipping herself back in her working chair.


	19. Chapter 19

Root put the data code in her pocket and went sadly to the turbolift. She was really looking forward to seeing Kathryn and hoping to get closer to her. But what had just happened, she had not expected. But good, life went on and so did Root.

So she went to the turbolift and was taken to the deck where Lt. B'Elanna Torres had her quarters. After pressing the door buzzer and no one responded, Root pulled a small device out of her jacket pocket and held it to the door code panel. Immediately two small tubes emerged from the device and entered the door code panel. Within a few seconds, Roots device had analyzed the correct door code and she entered it into the panel. Immediately the door opened to Lt. Torres quarters for her and she slipped in quickly before anyone caught her.

"Computer light to 75%" Root ordered and the computer lit up the lodging. Root stopped at the door and let her eyes wander and listen attentively into the living room. When she heard nothing suspicious, she went into the living room and looked around curiously.

"Computer alerts me as soon as Lt. Torres is on his way to their quarters." Root again ordered the computer.

*****************

Artig informed the computer 2 hours later Root, the Lt. Torres was on her way to her quarters. Root ordered the computer to lower the lights in the quarters to zero percent, and then quickly scurried to the door of the quarters and hid on the left side.

Once B'Elanna entered her quarters and asked the computer for light, Root stepped behind her, holding her taser to B'Elanna's neck and activating it. B'Elanna immediately knocked unconscious to the floor as the burst of energy hit her.

Root looked at her for a moment before she took her hands from B'Elanna's arms and pulled her to the nearest chair and heaved her up there.

"God damn, are they all so heavy on this ship?" Root cursed after finally lifting B'Elanna to the chair. Quickly she pulled out of her pants pocket some cable ties and tied B'Elanna's hands with it behind the back of the chair.

"Phew, done." She murmured softly and looked at her work. From experience, she knew that the effect of the Taser about 10 min. would last long, until B'Elanna would reaced again. So Root went to the replicator and replicated two glasses of water. From the one glass, she drank a long gulp, the other glass of water placed before B'Elanna on the table.

Next she pulled a chair off the table and sat on it upside down, looking at her prisoner, who seemed to be react slowly. "Hm ... Half Klingon are probably the fast sort." Root muttered.

"Computer lock the quarters door and soundproof the quarters." Root ordered the computer and then provided the required command code. Then she turned back to her prisoner.

"What the hell are you doing in my quarters?" B'Elanna hissed as if she came to herself again. A moment later she realized in which situation she was. "Why did you tie me up?" She asked sharply, glaring at Root.

Root, on the other hand, gave her a friendly smile and took the glass that stood in front of B'Elanna and held it out to her lips.

"Drink first, then you'll feel better." she said gently.

B'Elanna took a deep pull from the water and felt better immediately after swallowing it.

"You remember, I told you earlier *we'll clarify that later* and well, now it's later." Root explained, putting the tumbler back on the table and looking back at B'Elanna.

"What are you going to do?" B'Elanna asked, outwardly calm, but furious inside.

"Oh, I just want to talk to you. See, I do not like the way you handle Seven, so I'm here to clarify that to you personally." Root replied confidently.

"Why did you tie me up?" B'Elanna asked.

"Well, I had the impression that it is necessary. See, you're half-Klingon with a temper and you're probably stronger than me too. So I thought, I'd rather keep you quiet than get overwhelmed by you or give you the chance to call for safety." Root replied, giving B'Elanna a friendly smile.

B'Elanna glared at her. "Oh, I'll certainly call security as soon as I'm free here." She said angrily, shaking her shackles around her hands behind the back of her chair. She was amazed to find that the shackles were very loose and she looked at Root confused. But Root just grinned and showed no fear of B'Elanna. What's going on here? Why does she tie me so laxly? In B'Elanna's mind, her thoughts were racing wildly.

"You and Seven, you two are very similar since you. Honestly, I do not understand that you do not like each other and why you treat them so badly is not in my head either. Why are you so pissed off by Seven? What did she do to you that you are so upset with her? I mean, you're half-klingon, so of course it's the one that's upset. But you are also department chief of the engine room, as such, you have a role model and also the task of guiding your people to control their work and motivate them to their best achievements. Why do you treat Seven so badly in front of all the other employees of the engine room, where Seven is still the employee who has the best achievements, the best ideas and also works as correctly as possible?" Asked Root sad B'Elanna.

B'Elanna thought quietly, Root was right. Seven was the best-suited employee with all her knowledge and incredible stamina and concentration, Seven could work for hours without making a mistake. And she always tried to do her very best, and she never gave up until everything was perfect.

B'Elanna did not know exactly why Seven pissed her the most from all the people on Voyager. Was it her cool Borg kind or her politically smart Borg blethering? Deep inside she knew it exactly, but she did not want to admit it to herself, so she did not let this thought come to her, but locked him deep inside, further inside.

"How are Seven and I similar? I do not see a single point there. You seem to like to hear yourself talking, So clear me up." B'Elanna Root hissed annoyed and rolled her eyes.

Root smiled even more and took a sip of her water before answering.

"Okay, you lost your dad when you were 8 years old. He left you and your mom. Throughout your life, you blame yourself and try to live with it. Seven also lost her parents when she was only 6 years old. You are a hybrid half human / half - Klingon. Seven is also a hybrid half human / half Borg. You both fight with your identity. You both have difficulty adapting and subordinating yourself. Your upbringing turns you both into the ones you are, but it bothers you too. You're upset and spirited, where Seven seems the exact opposite. Emotionslos and cool, just Borg kind. But that's just their shield, against people like you, who reject them and do not bother to get to know them. You both came into a situation you both did not want to get into. You wanted to serve the Maquis and fight the Cardassians. Instead, land in the Delta Quadrant and suddenly have to subordinate yourself to Voyager and adjust to the Starfleet command chain. Seven wanted to stay with Borg but was forced against her will to stay here on Voyager and rediscover her humanity. You've spent your life developing, figuring out who you are, what you want to do. You could test yourself and see what you like, what not, and so on. But Seven only had the last two years, where you had 35 years time. Can not you understand that Seven is still at the beginning of her development and that she needs role models to follow, to help her find out who she wants to be, what she wants to do, what's fun, what love is, how does love even feel? But instead of being a role model, you make life difficult for her and she hollows herself behind her Borg tank, because he's the only thing she knows and keeps safe in an environment where everything speaks against her. Even the captain, whom Seven follows unbounded because she is the only one except Naomi, who helps her in this development process, has so little empathy to give her her own quarters. Instead, Seven lives like a discarded item in a cargo bay. A dark and gloomy place where everything is stored, which you do not need at the moment. And not enough, no." Root sighed and looked sadly at B'Elanna "someone is constantly coming into her private room looking for something in the cargo bay."

B'Elanna blinked at Root, she had not expected this talk about Seven. Yes, she knew where Seven lived, but she had never thought about it. She knew that the captain was spending more time with her than with other crewmembers. And that was exactly what B'Elanna had pissed off. She had to admit that she was always jealous of Seven and her proximity to the Captain. Before Seven came, the captain had formed a tender friendship with her and spent time with her again. But then Seven came and the captain was no longer available to B'Elanna as a friend. Yes, that was exactly what she was pissing on. But was Seven guilty? No not true. Root was right, Seven did not want to be here, but was forced to stay here and become human again.

Concerned B'Elanna looked at Root and felt like the last idiot. She had left out her frustration and jealousy of the wrong person. Shit, damn it, shit. How could she ever make it up to you?

Root, who had been watching B'Elanna the whole time, and could well imagine what was going on in her now, got up from her chair and approached B'Elanna. Then she sat down on B'Elanna's lap and gently kissed the tear that ran from B'Elanna's eye down her cheek.

"Do not worry, everything will be fine if you want it." She whispered softly and tenderly into B'Elanna's ear.

B'Elanna brushed off her handcuffs, which were loosely tied around her hands anyway, and put her arms around Roots upper body and pulled her close to her. Root also wrapped her arms around B'Elanna, gently stroking a hand over her back to calm the half-Klingon.

After a long moment the two hugged each other, B'Elanna let go Root and Root looked at B'Elanna with a smile.

"How can I make amends?" B'Elanna asked softly.

"You could apologize to Seven, get to know her better and become her friend and role model. I'm sure you two will have a lot of fun together. Seven has a good sense of humor. You should have seen her in her sleepshirt." Root said and winked at B'Elanna.

"Her sleep shirt?" B'Elanna asked confused and Root nodded her head.

"Yes, she had a choice of 5 sleepshirts and she chose the only thing that looked totally cute. It is pink and has a purple elephant on it, its ears hanging out of the sleeping shirt. You should see her how cute she looks in it." Root said as she slowly and gently stroked B'Elanna's face to wipe away the tears she had shed.

B'Elanna looked at Root stunned. She could not imagine the cool Borgwoman, with the unbelievably feminine body in such a sleep shirt and second, she found Roots proximity and how she stroked gently over her face, incredibly beautiful. She had not felt that way for a long time. Warm, safe and secure.

Yeah, sure she was with Tom Paris and they also exchanged pats and sometimes there was tenderness, but not as she was experiencing right now, from this totally alien woman, who is also pretty crazy appeared. What she just shared with Root felt better and more right and much more colorful than what she had ever experienced and felt with Tom.

So she put her right hand on Roots back of the head and pulled her face down to her face. Her lips settled on Roots lips and she kissed Root soft and tenderly. Then, as she realized the Root reciprocated her kiss, with more pressure and more passion. Her arms wrapped around Roots upper body and pressed him to her body while her hands wandered over Roots back and stroked him.

Within seconds, the kiss turned into a wild and passionate kiss that deepened so much that both women forgot that here and now, focusing only on each other and the moment.


	20. Chapter 20

The kiss became hotter and wilder between the two women. B'Elanna slipped her hands under Roots pullover and brushed her back. In her passion, B'Elanna lost herself and bit into Roots lower lip, which started to bleed. Root groaned softly and B'Elanna greedily licked the blood from Roots lower lip as she nails her nails into Roots skin and pulled Roots upper body even closer to her.

Root moaned loudly in the kiss and her hands went over B'Elanna's back and clung to her uniform jacket. B'Elanna ran her hands to Roots Butt and reached inside. Then she got up from the chair and Roots long legs wrapped around her hips. B'Elanna was astonished that she could carry this taller woman so easily to the bedroom.

In the bedroom, she slipped Root onto the bed and lay half on top of her as they continued to kiss.

Root had barely noticed the changes, the more she was astonished when she suddenly realized that she was lying on a bed and B'Elanna half on her. B'Elanna's hand was slipping under Roots sweater and wandering over her flat stomach. However, before she could reach Roots Bh, Root suddenly broke away from B'Elanna. B'Elanna looked at her in confusion.

Root quietly looked at B'Elanna. Her eyes were bright and her face was red. Her heart was beating wildly in Roots chest, and she felt dizzy. She desperately needed her space, so she got up quickly from the bed, trying to get enough air into her lungs, she turned away from B'Elanna. To calm her trembling fingers, she wrapped them in each other and rubbed them alternately.

It was all too much and too fast for Root. She had not planned that, that should not happen. She had only intended to talk to B'Elanna about Seven and no longer make life more difficult for the young woman. She did not intend to mess with an existing relationship and mess things up.

"We can not do this." She said quietly in a shaky voice.

"What? Why not?" B'Elanna asked in dismay and got up from bed and walked over to Root. Once there, she turned to Root and looked at her closely. Root had lowered her head and still kept her hands folded to calm her.

B'Elanna put her fingers under Roots chin and lifted it slowly so that she could see in Roots eyes. Roots eyes gleamed treacherously and Root once wiped her arms across her eyes to wipe away her tears.

"Tell me why we can not do that." asked B'Elanna gently. She wanted to understand it. For some reason, she felt very close to Root, though she did not know her. However, out of a sudden fear of being able to lose that closeness, where she had just found her, she was terrified.

Root looked timidly at B'Elanna. "Seven told me that you are with Tom Paris. And as far as I know, their honor is very important to the Klingons and what we have just done is putting your honor at risk. I do not want that. I'm so sorry. You do not even know me. You do not know who I am, where I come from, where I'm going. I ..." Before Root could continue, B'Elanna had pulled her into her arms and given her a gentle and tender kiss on her lips. Then she broke away from Root a bit, but still held her in her arms and winked at her cheeky.

"Do not worry about my honor. I'm just a half-Klingon and you're a bit strange to me, but I feel so close to you. As if I knew you all my life and as if I had been looking for you for a lifetime and now that you are finally with me, I would never let you go again or leave. The idea that you could leave again terrifies me too deeply. I do not know if I explain it well, but I want you to know that you are the only person in the universe I feel and have ever felt like. I know that's crazy, but that's the way I feel right now." B'Elanna explained upset. She was really very scared that Root would go and never go back.

But Root smiled at her, then sighed and sucked a deep breath into her lungs. *Oh dear, her stun gun had probably turned B'Elanna's emotional world upside down* drove it through Root's head and made her dizzy.

Fearing to faint, Root turned from B'Elanna's embrace and sat back on the bed, cupping her head between her hands, resting her arms on her knees. B'Elanna looked at Root worriedly. "Are you alright?" She asked softly and sat down at Root and put her hand on Roots back and gently stroked it.

"Hm ... yes, everything's okay with me." Root answered softly.

"I do not believe you somehow. You are trembling all over and your face has just flushed, you are now very pale. Come on, please lie down on the bed." Demanded B'Elanna, pushed Root back onto the bed and covered her with a blanket without waiting for Roots permission. Then she got the glass of water from Root, which was still on the dining table in the living room and brought it to Root.

"Please drink this." B'Elanna said decisively.

Root straightened up a bit and sipped at the glass. "Thanks" she said softly and then lay back on the pillows. B'Elanna sat down beside the bed and took Roots hand in her hand and stroked tenderly over Roots backs of hands with their thumbs.

"I know that's crazy. I just wanted to knock you down in anger and hurt you and now I just want to hold on to you and kiss you. I do not understand myself right now. You did not happen to mix something in my water to make me fall in love with you?" B'Elanna asked with a smile.

Root looked at B'Elanna, dumbfounded. "You are in love with me? You do not even know me."she said, stunned.

"I ... no, of course I did not fall in love with you. I mean we know just about an hour or less? That would be very crazy." Explained B'Elanna quickly and then looked shy aside. *By Khales Shit, yes damn, I'm in love with you.* B'Elanna went through her head.

Root looked skeptically at B'Elanna for a moment, but then she put her smile back on and sighed in relief as she slowly crawled out of bed and stood in front of B'Elanna again.

"Yes, that would be crazy. You're right. I'm glad you're alright, I briefly worried that my stun gun might have hurt you nervously in some way and made your head confused." confessed Root.

After a moment, she added "I have to go, I still have some things to do before we reach Antrie tomorrow afternoon. Have a nice evening B'E and dream sweet later." Root said and gave B'Elanna a gentle kiss on her cheek, then she grabbed her jacket, which she had just dropped on the couch and left the quarters in a hurry.

B'Elanna looked at Root stunned and also wistful. Then she let herself tingle on her bed.

*Damn, what did I just talk about nonsense? I have practical Root put to flight.. She must really think that I am crazy. By Kahles, I suppose so too.* B'Elanna thought soberly and took a pillow and held it in front of her head, shouting in frustration. 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAArrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

*****************************

After Root left B'Elanna's quarters, she let herself tingle on the floor next to the quarters door. "Shit, what have I done again?" Root wondered desperately and took a moment to gather again. B'Elanna really had Root's head twisted. Just thinking about what would have happened if she had not suddenly stopped the pretty hot kiss in bed made her head buzz. "Shit, I can not afford such distractions." Root himself admitted. With a deep sigh, she rose again from the ground and walked on wobbly legs to the next turbolift. 


	21. Chapter 21

Root took the turbolift to the deck where Cargo Bay 2 was located. She hoped very much that Seven was not yet in the cycle of regeneration. She had not intended to stay in B'Elanna's quarters for long, but since B'Elanna did not show up in her quarters until two hours after her duty, she had not expected that. That had definitely brought their schedules through each other.

Root was relieved when she entered Cargo Bay 2 and Seven was still working on her work console.

"Hello sweetie, did you miss me?" Root asked in her typical flirting tone.

Seven turned to her and raised her eyebrows and looked at Root curiously. "What happened to your lip and why do you smell like Lt. Torres?" Seven asked immediately curiously.

Since Root had forgotten her injured lip, she cursed inside and looked at Seven sheepishly.

"How do you know that I'm going to Lt. Torres smelled?" She asked instead surprised and took a handkerchief from her jacket pocket and dabbed her lip with it. A small pain pierced her and she grimaced.

Seven took a skin regenerator from a box that was in the step to her alcove and stepped back to Root. Carefully, she took Roots chin in her hand and held the skin regenerator over the injured area and healed her.

"My sense organs are reinforced by my Borg physiology. So I can smell, hear and see better than normal people. Only the taste buds are not developed so far yet." Seven said, looking at the injured area that had now healed.

"Your wounded lip is now healed." Informed Seven Root and took a step back and out of Roots personal space.

"Thank you sweetie, lovley of you to doctor me. And as for your question, I prefer not to answer it." Root said, sitting down on the steps of the alcoves.

"Why do not you want to answer my question?" Seven asked in confusion.

"Well, because the answer is very private." Root replied and winked at Seven. "Look sweetie, you can ask anything you want, and I'll answer all your questions as far as I can. But there will also be questions that I do not want to answer because they are private. Okay?" Asked Root.

Seven thought about it and then nodded her head.

"Why are you here, do you need my help?" She asked after a moment.

"Oh, good that you ask. I thought I would sleep with you at Cargo Bay 2 today, we're going to do something like an slumber party. I do not like the idea of having you regenerated here alone. What do you say, is that okay with you?"

Seven smiled at Root and was very happy that she did not have to be alone this time. But shortly thereafter her brow furrowed. "Slumber Party? But where do you want to sleep?" She asked worriedly.

Root pulled out of her jacket pocket a small object that looked almost like a communicator and showed it to Seven.

"This is a holoprojector, so I can project a bed to sleep in. And to make things even easier, I thought, should we shield your alcove and my bed with a wall." Root pulled out another holoprojector and placed it on Seven's workstation.

In the first holoprojector she pushed a data disc and activated it. In the meantime, there was a double bed in front of Seven and Root. Seven looked at Root in astonishment.

"Come sweetie, help me carry the bed over to your alcove. Then we'll project a nice wall." Root said, already lifting one end of the bed and waiting for Seven to help her. But Seven just looked at her blankly.

"Sweetie?" Asked Root.

"We do not have to project any walls, there are enough bulkheads over there that we can use, since they are not in use right now." Seven said after a brief moment of wondering if she should reveal this possibility or it should not do so as they might violate any Starfleet rules by using Starfleet property without first asking for permission.

Root glared at Seven. "Sweetie, that's a great idea. Can you help move the bed, please?"

Seven nodded her head and picked up the bed on the other side of the bed. As she was much stronger with her borgypysiology, the bed creaked suspiciously with the force with which Seven raised it. Root looked at her in surprise.

"Slow, sweetie, we just want to move the bed and not break it." She pointed out and Seven blushed a bit.

Then Seven let the bed down a bit and both women carried it over to Seven's alcove.

"Phew, maybe I should have just put the holoprojector closer to your alcove." Root mumbled to himself as they finally put the bed down in the right place and she held her side out of breath.

"Yes, that would have been a more logical course of action." Seven said seriously, but then grinned at Root.

"Hey, do not be naughty young lady." Root replied and grinned at Seven back.

"How do we proceed?" Asked Seven, after Root got enough air again.

"Now we put up the bulkheads around the bed and your alcove, so we have our private room for our slumber party. Sweetie, let's get the bulkheads."

Seven eyed Root appraisingly. "I think I should do it alone. You are not strong enough to carry a bulkhead. How many bulkheads do we need?" Root gratefully looked at Seven and sat down on the bed and looked around. In her mind, she quickly tried to figure out how many bulkheads would be needed for a small private area.

"Hm ... I think we should get along well with 6 bulkhead walls. How do we connect them?"

"There are also connecting parts with which we can connect them. They are behind there. I suggest you get them while I carry the bulkheads over here." Seven said and walked to the bulkhead walls.

Root sighed deeply and got up from the bed and walked over to the connecting parts. As soon as she raised one, she moaned inwardly, as it was quite hard. Root gathered all her strength, pulled and tugged at the connecting part. But more than half a meter she could not move it. Helpless, she looked over to Seven, who in the meantime had carried at least 3 bulkheads over to her alcove and was about to move the fourth bulkhead wall.

Annoyed, she dropped the connecting part and walked over to Seven.

"Sweetie, I can not move the connecting part, they are too heavy. Could you please help me?" Root asked sheepishly. Inside she wished she could have projected a wall with her holoprojector, then the work would have been done. But since Seven had this good idea, she did not want to reject that idea.

"I'll do it, please stay out of the way, so I will not hurt you when I bring the last bulkheads and get the connecting part." Seven busily said to Root.

*****************************

Root sat down again on the bed, but after a moment she crawled on to the bed and lay exhausted in the pillows. Her thoughts immediately went back to another bed she had lain in today and to the woman she had brought there. *B'Elanna* The kiss between them was incredible, so hot and wild. Only with these thoughts of this kiss, Root got goose bumps and in their midst it pulled together painfully. In her imagination, Root played the kiss in her head and also imagined what would have happened if she had not stopped B'Elanna.

In her mind B'Elanna's hand went up Roots flat stomach to her breasts. B'Elanna's fingers tug at her bra and release her small right breast. She fits exactly in her hand and she kneads and massages her vigorously. Roots nipple immediately straightens against the palm of B'Elanna and B'Elanna's finger twirls the hard nipple and pulls it vigorously. B'Elanna's lips wander over Roots throat and she sinks her teeth without warning. The bite is sharp and her teeth break through Roots skin. A hot pain shoots through Roots body and her back arched with desire. She moaned deeply into the pain and clawed her right hand into the blanket and her left hand in B'Elanna's back, which still has on her uniform. B'Elanna's tongue gently licks the wound and her lips breathe tender kisses. But shortly afterwards she bites Roots throat again and Root screams lustfully into the pain.

*****************************

"Root?" Seven asked anxiously, leaving the bulkhead she had just connected to a connecting part and walking over to the bed where Root screamed painfully again and writhed in her sleep. "Root?" Seven asked again, nudging her slightly.

"Are you alright?" Seven asked after Root opened his eyes and looked confusedly at Seven.

"Hm ... yes, all right. What happened?" Asked Root hoarsely. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest and she was dizzy from the dream.

"You screamed like you're in pain. So I woke you up." Explained Seven and continued to look at Root worriedly.

"I must have fallen asleep and had a dream. I'm fine, thank you, sweetie." Root stroked Seven's upper arm slightly and looked around at Cargo Bay 2. "You're almost done with the bulkheads. Why did not you wake me up so I could help you?" Asked Root confused.

Seven looked at Root in astonishment. "You're weak, how could you help me?" Seven asked curiously.

Root blushed a bit and rubbed her nosebone, as Captain Capatin always did. "I could have held something." she said in a small voice.

"Yeah, but that was more effective." Seven said, turning back to the bulkheads she still needed to join.

Root watched her take a deep breath, hoping to soothe her heart. When that did not do much, she took her tablet can out of her jacket pocket and took out a tablet, which she immediately swallowed without liquid. Then she lay back on the pillows and waited for her heart to calm down again.

After Seven had fastened the last bulkhead and now her alcove and the bed had been sealed off from the rest of Cargo Bay 2 through the bulkheads, she went to Root and sat on the bed and looked at Root.

"Your heart is beating normally again, are you feeling better now?" She asked curiously. Root looked surprised at Seven.

"I could hear it beating irregularly earlier, but now it's beating regularly again and your face color is back to normal." Explained Seven.

Root still looked at Seven in amazement before deciding to speak openly with Seven.

"I have a heart failure, sometimes I have to take medication for it to work well and I'm fine. That's why I met with the doctor before lunch today. So he already knows and wants me every 3 days with him, look over, so that he can monitor my health." Root explained quietly and looked ashamed at Seven.

Seven understood how Root felt, since she also suffered from her implants and often had to see the doctor for that. So she crawled onto the bed and closed her arms around Roots upper body. Root, who was completely surprised by the action, after a short moment also put her arms around Seven's upper body and pushed her back slightly. Then she gave Seven a gentle kiss on the cheek and broke away from her again.

"Time to regenerate." Root said cheerfully and Seven rolled her eyes, but crept out of the bed and climbed the small stairs to her alcove. Root followed her.

"Good night sweetie, dream sweet." She said and breathed another kiss on Seven cheek. Seven smiled warmly at her.

"I do not dream during a regeneration cycle. I process all the data I've collected in the last few days and my nano-probes, as well as my implants get energy to regenerate." Explained Seven.

"Okay, whatever you do in there, have a nice time. I will be here and looking after you and when you're done, come to me under the blanket and we can snuggle up before the new day starts." Root replied and winked at Seven smiling.

"Acceptable" Seven said and finally stood in her alcove. Once inside, her body became rigid and her features relaxed. Root was fascinated by the process. Then, with a sigh, she went back to the bed and lay down fully clothed. Shortly thereafter, she was also deeply asleep.

*****************************

Kathryn walked a few hours later, aimlessly through the corridors of her spaceship, hoping to finally be able to fall asleep after the walk.  
Tuvok's most recent surveillance report had made Kathryn pacing back and forth in her quarters while contemplating Root and Seven. The last night Seven had spent in Roots spaceship, as they had met the two before the fair, after they had finished their lunch. Kathryn desperately wondered what was going on between the two women. On the one hand, she was worried that Root Seven could exploit naivety and innocence and, on the other hand, she was jealous. However, she did not even know who exactly she was jealous of. Was she jealous of Root or Seven, or was she jealous of both women because they seemed to understand each other well, so they spent a lot of time together? Kathryn's thoughts turned in circles, and she had left her quarters in frustration, wandering through her spaceship, hoping she would do well. Ignoring the direction or the deck she was on, she went on step by step, her mind turning to Root and Seven.

Until she suddenly pushed against a bulkhead wall. Surprised and disoriented, she looked around as she rubbed her aching forehead. When she realized that she was in the Cargo Bay 2 she made big eyes.

Puzzled that suddenly stood a bulkhead around Seven alcove, she once wandered from one side to the other side and back again. *what did that mean again? What was going on here?* Kathryn wondered. On one side was a door, but she did not dare to press the door buzzer for fear of interrupting Seven's cycle of regeneration or otherwise disturbing her. Annoyed and worried, as before she left Cargo Bay 2 and made her way home. Tomorrow morning, she would go to Seven and question her about the bulkhead, Kathryn decided.


	22. Chapter 22

Meanwhile, B'Elanna had spent the evening with Tom in her quarters. First, they had dinner together and then switched to the couch, where they exchanged on the latest ship gossip.

After a while Tom pulled B'Elanna into his arms and kissed her on the lips.

As Tom kissed B'Elanna, she quickly realized how wrong it felt. Compared to the kiss she shared with Root, that kiss was stale and dispassionate. Quickly B'Elanna broke away from Tom's embrace. Tom looked at her in confusion.

"What is Lanna?" He asked her anxiously.

"Tom, I can not do that anymore. That does not feel good to me anymore. I need a break from our relationship." confessed B'Elanna. Tom stared at B'Elanna, stunned.

"You do not mean that, do you?" He asked uncertainly.

"Yes Tom, I'm serious. Please leave now." Ask she Tom calmly.

But inside her, a storm raged and her thoughts tumbled. Did she do the right thing? Did she really want to give up on her relationship with Tom just because the kiss with Root was more passionate than all the kisses she'd shared with Tom, throughout her relationship? And the only answer that occurred to her relatively quickly was *Yes*

But Tom remained rooted to the spot, unable to grasp what had happened. Did she just say that she did not want to be with him anymore?

"Lanna, I ..." before he could speak B'Elanna looked at him seriously.

"No, Tom. Please go now. Let's talk about it in a few days. Right now I can not talk about it, because I do not know for sure what's wrong with me. All I know is that I'd rather be alone." she explained, looking away from Tom.

Tom got up stiffly from the couch and stared at B'Elanna once more, before he turned and left her quarters.

As soon as Tom was out of her quarters, B'Elanna sighed in relief. She really liked Tom and she always thought that she even loved him and wanted to spend her life with him. But since she had kissed Root, her emotions had changed a lot since then. Now she just wanted to Root and spend her life with her.

B'Elanna did not want to hurt or injured Tom, but right now she needed time and calm to think about her feelings for Root.

Slowly she wandered around her quarters, not knowing what to do or where to start, to find out what had happened today. When she got to her bedroom and stood in front of her bed, she sighed and lay down on her pillows, where she still could perceive Roots fragrance clearly.

Maybe it was really Roots gun that had knocked B'Elanna out of action, making her nerve endings vibrate and making her hypersensitive. Earlier her senses were suddenly so keen and original. Her heart pounded and her blood rushed wildly through her veins. Roots smell magically attracted her and her soft touches over her cheek brought her to a boil. She could not help but pull Root before kissing her, tasting and exploring her. Her lips were so soft, so different from Tom's lips. They were delicious and sweet. And as their tongues joined together and danced around each other, there was an explosion in B'Elanna's heart. She just had to take Root and turn her into her property. This thought was so powerful in her and so impressive that she just took Root and slapped her teeth into Roots tender lower lip. That was the most erotic thing she had experienced for many, many years. If any! Roots deep moan was reward enough and in B'Elanna the desire arose to lure even more of these heavenly sounds out of Root. When the blood came out of Roots lower lip and B'Elanna's tongue slid over it, it was the most wonderful thing she had ever tasted. B'Elanna was intoxicating. So much so that she had to pull Root even closer to her and bring her to her bed.

While B'Elanna was going through the events in her mind once more, step by step, her hands had moved over her own upper body. Her hands had slipped under her uniform jacket and pulled her Starfleet shirt out of her pants. A hand had instantly moved to her breasts and had begun to massage her breasts alternately, first over her bra and then her hand had slipped under her bra as her nipples hardened. B'Elanna twirled, pinched or pulled on the left and right nipples. A light groan escaped her mouth and her blood began to rush through her veins again. Her other hand had opened her pants button and slipped into her panties. There she had wandered over her curly hair and slipped through her damp slit to the source of her moisture. Her fingers wet with it and slid back through her moist skin folds and went to her most secretive Erogen zones, of which only she knew she existed.

Not even Tom had ever heard of them. For one thing, because he had never bothered to delight and explore B'Elanna with his fingers or his tongue in that area, and second, because B'Elanna had never told him, out of shame, Tom was over her could make fun of. Tom had always satisfied her sexually in one and the same way. Namely with his penis. That had always been okay for her, but now that she was thinking of Root, it occurred to her how boring the sex was with him.

And just as she was touching herself and stimulating her secret, erogenous zones, she imagined, Roots long, lithe fingers touching her two clitoris gently, tenderly, and exploratively. Scrubbing and rubbing them, slowly and painfully circling and scratching at them. B'Elanna groaned deeply and hard as she slipped her own fingers deep inside her, then slowly and then faster and faster. She rode on a wave of lust that intoxicated her and eventually overpowered her and culminated in an orgasm. 

Happy and exhausted, B'Elanna fell into a deep sleep shortly thereafter.


	23. Chapter 23

"Regeneration Cycle Completely" announced the computer and Seven's eyes opened. She stepped out of her alcove and her first eyes fell on Root, who was sleeping in bed in front of her. There was a smile on Seven's face and she quickly stepped down from her alcove and crawled to Root's bed.

Root noticed the movements in half sleep and opened up for Seven. Seven snuggled into Root's arms and Root pulled her close to her body. Seven's head came to rest on Roots chest and Root gently kissed Seven's top. "Good morning sweetie" she mumbled sleepily.

Seven smiled happily and enjoyed being held in Roots arms. Although she was fully blithely and ready to go to work, but lying here so close entwined, abruptly reduced their willingness to work.

Instead, she closed her eyes and let her senses wander. She heard the regular beating of Roots heart, she perceived her warm body and she still smelled Lt. Torres next to Roots fragrance. All this caused Seven to become very excited.

Slowly, she let her Borghand wander over Roots belly and slipped under her jacket and sweater and gently stroked Roots belly to her breasts, while she placed her left leg between Roots legs and pressed it gently against her crotch.

Root, who had fallen asleep after taking Seven in her arms, got this only in half sleep.. So Seven cautiously explored Roots upper body. Her hand rested on Roots flat stomach and let her assimilation tubes out of the backs of her hands. The two tubes parted, a tube wandered to Roots right breast and the other to her left breast and gently stroked it. The data they sent to Seven via their sensors made Seven softly moan.  
Carefully, the tubes slipped into the respective bra cups and slid to Roots nipples. They stroked it, and shortly afterwards, they aimed hard against the tube's sensors.

Seven now moaned a little louder at the data she received and Roots eyes opened suddenly as she felt the assimilation tubes on her nipples and the other, as she heard Seven moan deeply. She looked at Seven questioningly and confused.

Seven gazed longingly at her, eyes dark with pleasure and excitement, spinning her assimilation tubes around Roots's nipples, until they all at once squeezed the hardened nipples. Root groaned deeply as the pain spread through her entire body and she squeezed her pelvis against Seven Leg and squeezed Seven's body even closer.

Seven mentally instructed her assimilation tubes, releasing the nipples and gently stroking them. Root's tensed body relaxed as the pain subsided. But Seven let her assimilation tubes repeat the maneuver and Roots body tensed abruptly as pain moved through her body to her loins. Seven pressed her leg against Roots crotch and rubbed it while Root clung to her and groaned loudly.

Seven enjoyed the sounds she had pulled out of Root and wondered what sounds she would get from her. Her assimilation tubes released Roots nipples. Before they could attack again, however, Root turned and suddenly sat on Seven and pushed her angrily on the bed and looked at her seriously.

"No!!!" she said loud and clear and scared Seven. Seven's assimilation tubes immediately returned to Seven's hand and Seven pulled her hand out from under Roots pullover. Then she looked at Root questioning and confused.

"Sweetie, what you just did was not okay. Please never do that again!" Root said seriously. But when she saw tears forming in Seven's eyes, she was sorry she had so roughly addressed Seven.

Slowly she got down from Seven and sat down next to her in bed and tried to calm down again. Seven lay ashamed in bed next to her and did not know what to do.

The only thing Seven could think of was getting up quickly and leaving the bed and root. But Root grabbed her by the arm and turned her over so that she could look her right in her eyes. brown honey eyes met ice-blue eyes.

"Sweetie, I love you and I adore you. I would do anything for you if only it would make you happy. And yes, I would like you to continue your research with my body, but not here and not so. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Root asked more gently.

Seven looked uncertain at Root. "You love me?" She asked in disbelief.

Root nodded her head. "Yes, I certainly love you. But see, the cargo bay 2 is not a place where I want to be fucked and the timing is also very poorly chosen." Root said pulling Seven into her arms.

"I love you and I want to make love with you. But not here and not now. Please let us take it easy." She whispered into Seven's ear and Seven hugged Root back.

When Root broke away from Seven, Seven Root looked ruefully. "I'm sorry, please forgive me." Seven asked softly. Root gave Seven a peck on the cheek and put her arms back around her torso.

"I forgive you, but only if we can continue to sleep for a while now and keep your assimilation tube at you. By the way, that's pretty cool, what you can do with them. Remember that, please." Root said, winking at Seven. Seven blushed and glared at Root.

"Come on, I'm sure it's not time to get up yet. Let's keep cuddling and sleep a little bit more. Yes?" Asked Root.

Seven nodded her head and both women sank back into the pillows and cuddled together again. Seven was relieved that Root forgave her. And Root was secretly thrilled with Seven's sexual assault, but she did not want to make it too easy for her.

********************************

Shortly before Seven Chronometer wanted to wake her up at 6 o'clock, the door buzzer suddenly sounded, from the door, which was embedded in the bulkhead wall. Totally sleepy, Root straightened up confused and looked questioningly at Seven, who was also still not quite aware of the cuddle and doze. Her blond hair stood confused from her head and she rubbed her eyes.

"There's someone at the door." Seven said soberly and clumsily got out of bed and headed for the door in the bulkhead.

"Captain?" She asked immediately, after she had opened the door and the captain had entered the private area of Seven.

Kathryn looked from Seven to Root and back again. "What's going on?" She asked sternly and completely beside herself. Root immediately slipped out of bed and took shelter from Seven.

"We had an slumber party, Captain. I was unaware that we needed your permission for it." Root answered a trail too icily and glared at Kathryn.

Kathryn shrugged her shoulders and glared at Root as well.

Root looked at Seven, who fidgeted anxiously beside her and felt very uncomfortable in this situation.

"How about you get ready for your work shift and I'll tell the captain what she wants to know?" Asked Root Seven and Seven gratefully nodded to Root and quickly left the cargo bay 2 and the awkward situation.

Only a very annoyed root and a bad-tempered jealous Kathryn stayed behind. Both women openly glared at each other for a long moment. 

Then suddenly Root gave it up and sat back on the bed tired.

"I did not do anything to Seven, you do not have to be jealous. Relax yourself. You should tell her how you feel about her. She would be overjoyed to know. And believe me, she is not so naive and innocent as you think." Root said, smiling.

Kathryn took a deep breath and took a moment to digest what her root had just said. Sighing deeply, she sits down on the bed of Root.

"Am I so transparent?" She asked softly Root.

"No, you have kept your secret pretty well. Just know, I'm good at reading people." Root said, gently stroking Kathryn's hand, which she had placed on her knees.

Kathryn looked at Roots hand and took her in her hand and squeezed it lightly.

"I'm the captain, I'm not allowed to have a relationship with a crew member. I have to focus on my job and not let it distract me." She said resignedly.

"I know." Root said quietly, pulling Kathryn's hand to her lips and blowing a soft kiss on it before she released Kathryn's hand. "My offer is still there."

Kathryn looked at Root wide-eyed. "Root, I do not understand you. You flirt with anyone who comes across you and still make me this immoral offer. Seven spent the last three nights with you. What's going on between you and why are bulkheads set up here?" Kathryn asked curiously.

Root smiled tenderly at Kathryn. "I make you this offer because I see how much you suffer from your loneliness. I find you very attractive, beautiful and remarkable. Seven and I, share a different kind of relationship, I have only known them for five days, but I already love them very much. But right now we have no sexual relationship, if that calms you down. I do not want to stand between you two, if there's a chance you can come together. But if you do not take this chance, I can not promise you that I can keep my hands off Seven." confessed Root Root honestly and looked at Kathryn before continuing. 

"And my flirting with other members of your crew is just what it is - flirting. No more and no less. And the bulkheads are here because I thought it was terrible that Seven had to regenerate here in public, where someone could always walk in and disturb their privacy. I think the cargo bay 2 is not a suitable place for someone like Seven. You should assign her a room, where she can regenerate privately and undisturbed and explore and research her individuality." Root answered all the questions Kathryn had asked her.

Kathryn looked closely at Root as she thought about what Root had said.

"I'll talk to Commander Chakotay about it today and assign Seven to their own quarters. I honestly did not know she was uncomfortable here. But you're right, this is not a place for a young woman who still has to regain her humanity. Thank you for pointing this out to me. As for the other, my situation will not change, so I expect you to lovingly treat Seven and make her happy." Kathryn said resignedly and got up from the bed with a sigh. Without looking at Root again, she left Root and quickly left Cargo Bay 2.

Still running, Kathryn noticed tears forming in her eyes, wiping them angrily. She had no real jealousy for Root, where she was the only one of them that could make Seven happy. There was no reason to be desperate because of that. She was the captain and nothing changed in the near future. So she made room and gave the woman she loves over all to make Seven happy with Root.


	24. Chapter 24

Root sighed deeply and shook her head. The day started well. First, Seven seduced her completely unexpectedly and then Kathryn came and made her life difficult. It was true that in the few days that she already knew Seven, she had fallen in love with the tall, slender Ex Borg. But she also knew that Seven was in love with Kathryn, so she had never expected that Seven would ever be sexually interested in her. She had expected Seven to accept the friendship her root offered. But not more. Root did not want anymore either. She had her goal and too much distraction of that kind would only deter her. That should not happen.

Root disabled the holopojector and the bed disappeared in the same second. Unfortunately, the damn bulkhead remained. If they had only projected the wall, it would have disappeared now. But no, she had to do it in seven ways. Root was muttering to himself. Annoyed, she left Cargo Bay 2 and made her way to her spaceship.

It was good that the Voyagers would get Antrie this afternoon. So she could get the things she needed and fix her spaceship and leave the Voyager. She could finally leave everything behind and fly towards her destination.

*******************

"Root?" Seven asked as Root stepped into her spaceship. "Yes?" She asked and went to Seven in the kitchen area.

"I made breakfast for you." Seven said, taking Root by the hand and leading her to the table, gently pressing her to the chair.

Root looked at her in confusion. "Why did you make breakfast? Should not you prepare for your work shift?" She asked softly, poking her fork in the scrambled eggs that lay on her plate in front of her. She was absolutely not hungry and her stomach tightened painfully at the sight of the meal. Since she did not want to disappoint Seven, she took a little of the scrambled eggs on her fork and pushed it into her mouth.

"My working shift starts today from the beta shift. So I have enough time to prepare. I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier, and according to my research, you can do that by making a meal for those you want to apologize for." Seven answered and sat down at Root's table and looked at her sheepishly.

Root looked at Seven gently. "Sweetie, I thought we'd cut that off already." Root replied and winked at Seven.

"Correctly. But that still makes me feel guilty." Seven replied quietly.

"You do not have to, all right. Swam over it. The scrambled eggs are delicious, thank you for making me something to eat. Incidentally, I confessed everything to the captains, why the bulkhead and so on. I told her that I do not think it's right that you have to live in Crago Bay 2. She has promised to speak to Commander Chakotay for a own quarters for you." Explained Root while continuing to force herself to eat more of the scrambled eggs, her stomach contracting suspiciously.

Seven looked at Root with wide eyes. "My own quarters?" Seven asked, blinking at Root. "Does that mean I can not come here anymore to spend my time here?"

Root looked up from her scrambled eggs and Seven. "No, surely you can still come here, my spaceship is always open for you. But once I fix it, I'll be on my way. And that's good if you have your own quarters." Root replied, pushing aside the plate of scrambled eggs.

Seven looked worried at the plate. "Does not it taste good?" She asked.

"It tastes very delicious sweetie, but I'm honestly not a morning person. I rarely eat before lunch. Before I forget to say, today when we arrive in Antrie I will stay there for a few days. Come whenever you want and stay as long as you like. And get where you want to go." Root said cheerfully, bringing the plate to the replicator and recycling it.

"Thanks." Seven said, watching Root leave in her bedroom.

Quick, Root searched in her bedroom, which she would need for the next few days on Antrie. After putting everything in her backpack, she lay down on her bed, thinking about the events that had taken her to the Delta Quadrant.

*******************

"Sam?" Dominique called as she entered Root's large apartment angrily. Cloe came straight out of the kitchen and looked at Dominique crookedly. "Dominique, why are you screaming like that?" Cloe asked, puzzled.

"I'm looking for Sam, she just let me sit today and I'm mad at her. Is she here?" Dominique asked angrily.

"Yes, she is here, but in her study. I'd advise you not to go in there, you know how it is when you bother her there." Cloe replied conspiratorially.

But Dominique did not care how Sam behaved when she entered her sanctuary unasked. So she hurried down the hallway and knocked wildly on the door of Sam's study.

Root tear annoyed her door and saw a very angry Dominique face, who also gave her a big slap in the face. Root uttered a cry of pain and she held her burning cheek.

"Dom ..., why are you doing that?" She asked in astonishment.

"You know exactly why I do that. You just let me sit at the rehearsal dinner just like that. Do you even know how I felt about it?" Dominique screamed loudly and hit the words around Root's ears.

Root calmly looked at Dominique. "I'm sorry Dom, but I could not sit there any longer and pretend that everything is alright. I ..." Before Root could continue, Dominique cut her off.

"You could not sit there and pretend that everything is alright?" Dominique asked stunned. "Shit Sam, what's damn wrong or wrong? We want to marry in seven days and you suddenly start to spin. What is it? Tell me damn it!" Demanded Dominique.

"Dom, I can not do that now, let's talk about it tomorrow." Root just said tiredly.

But Dominique did not see the need to postpone this conversation until tomorrow. She felt crazy and humiliated and wanted to clear up this matter immediately.

"No, I want to know that now. I'll stay here until you talk to me and tell me what's going on." Dominique replied decisively.

Root stepped out of her study and closed the door. Then she went down the hall to the living room and sat exhausted and tired on the couch. Dominique had followed her and sat down in front of Root and looked at Root with a firm face.

"Dom, I can not marry you. I do not love you." Root said softly with his head bowed and inwardly prepared himself for the storm that would soon be coming from Dominique.

To their surprise, no storm came from Dominique. So she looked at her and noticed the tears running down Dominique's cheeks.

"I know." Dominique said softly. "I was hoping that you would love me someday. That you only need time and I have to show and prove my love again and again. That you would fall in love with me then too. When I asked you to marry me and you agreed, I thought you had finally fallen in love with me and I was overjoyed. Why did you agree if you do not love me? God damn it, why did not you refuse? That would have been fair to me. Why?" Dominique asked again upset and Root jerked at the loud words.

"I do not know. I thought it would be enough to like you. I'm sorry." said Root quietly and closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around her upper body. Her heart suddenly started to get restless and her chest contracted painfully.

Dominique looked at her worriedly as Roots facial color suddenly turned pale. Within a few seconds, Dr. Neil Humbert materialized and he was worried about Root.

"What happened?" He asked while examining Root and holding a hypospray to her neck and giving her medicine so her heart could calm down.

"We had a fight." confessed Dominique ruefully and looked at the doctor as he carefully laid Roots upper body on the couch and moved her legs to the couch. Then he opened Roots blouse and took the heart monitor from her chest and replaced it with another heart monitor. Then he ran his tricorder over her body and analyzed the data. After realizing that Root was getting better, he turned to Dominique.

"Ms. LaRue, I thought we've had this conversation before and that I pointed out at the time that the dispute is not good for Ms. Grove's heart. We agreed that these events would not take place any more." Dr. Humbert said sternly.

"Yes." Dominique replied softly.

"And then why this dispute today?" He asked her sternly.

"She had me sit at the rehearsal dinner, I was just angry and hurt. I forgot Sam's health. I'm so sorry. Will she be okay?" Dominique asked desperately. After all, she loved Sam everywhere and for that very reason, Sam's behavior had hurt her so much and made her angry that she let herself be tempted to this argument.

"Yes, she will be fine. You should leave them alone now and leave." he told Dominique.

Dominique nodded her head and left Roots apartment ruefully. When she left, Cloe came and brought the doctor a cup of coffee. Meanwhile, Root was completely powerless on the couch and was barely conscious.

"Thanks." he said, unpacking various medications he placed on the coffee table and inserted a new medication into the hypospray.

"We should take her to the bedroom and then make sure she gets enough sleep at night." He said to Cloe and slipped his hands under Roots body and lifted her gently. Then he carried her down the hall and into her bedroom. Cloe had run forward and already pulled the blankets aside. Doctor Humbert carefully put Root to bed and left the room so Cloe Root could move out.

After Cloe Root moved, she left the bedroom and let the doctor know. He took his doctor's bag to Root's bedside and gave her a hypospray so she would get well over the night.

The next morning, when Root could only open her eyes with difficulty, the doctor was still sitting by her side monitoring her vital signs.

"Neil." She said in a husky voice and the doctor looked at Root wistfully.

"That has to stop. In the last two weeks I was here four times and had to provide you with medical care. The board wants the heart surgery, they even got advice on the legal guidelines, what you can do to force you to the heart surgery. You speak of incapacitation if you do not want to be operated voluntarily. If you are first incapacitated, you can have the operation done without your permission. And you do not care what opinion you have. Sam, you are too important to they, they do not want you to die. They definitely want to prevent that. Please be reasonable and do not let it get that far." Neil said desperately, hoping to change Sam's mind.

Root stared blankly at Neil. "They can not do that, it's my heart and my decision. I will not let myself be forced to operate. I refuse." Root said wearily, tears streaming down her cheek, some with anger and some with despair.

"I know you do not want that, but they'll get they way either way." Neil said seriously. Then he ran his fingers over Roots face and kissed her softly on her forehead. "I'll come back later and check on you. I tell Cloe to make you something light to eat. As I know you, the last few days you have missed the food most of the time. But you need enough strength, so please eat something, even if you're not hungry and please rest and stay in bed all day." He said and left the room.

Root sighed deeply. Shit, shit, shit, they want to force me to surgery and I can not do much about it. Crap.

In a flash of panic, Root got up cautiously, dressed in her favorite clothes, and picked up a few things to pack in her backpack. Then she took the picture of Sameen and put it in the backpack with the other things. From her cupboard she got her favorite laptop and pulled some cables out of her drawer and put everything in her shoulder bag. In the bathroom she got her medicine pack and put her heart medications in there. She also put this in her backpack. As she searched and packed everything she needed, she silently left her bedroom.

Neil was still in the kitchen with Cloe, having had a breakfast prepared by Cloe, which he now enjoyed more than after the hard night. Root crept quietly out of her apartment and took the elevator to the upper floor.

Once there, she crept quietly to the transport platform, which she would beam into her spaceship "The Sameen Shaw". Quickly, Root entered the required codes and she was soon beamed to her spaceship, which was in the company's own orbit hangar.

After stowing her things in her bedroom, she went to the bridge and activated her spaceship. She quickly entered coordinates into the starboard console and started her spaceship.

Shortly thereafter, she was on her way to the neutral zone of Starfleet. Only then would she be able to activate her * Blinkdrive *. The *Blinkdrive* was still a very experimental propulsion unit that could move a spaceship from moment to moment to the other end of the galaxy in no time. And because it was still very experimental, it was subject to a secrecy of the highest level, and much else could go wrong if it had not been properly calibrated.

And that's exactly what happened when Root was in a hurry, stranded in the Delta Quadrant. She had calibrated the Blinkdrive drive incorrectly and had strayed too far from her actual destination. Actually, she had hoped to reach Borg territory to be assimilated by them. But instead, she was stranded for about two years from Borg Room away and came across Voyager.

That would not have been a problem if the flashing drive adapter had not been completely burned through. Luckily, the Blinkdrive drive card was still intact. It was much harder to fix than a new drive adapter. For this root needed not many complicated components, such as the drive card. Root was sure she would get everything she needed for the repair on Antrie.

And once she had repaired her spaceship, she could fly to the Borg and realize her plan. She preferred to become a Borg drone rather than being forced into something that she abhorred and rejected from the bottom of her heart. From here there was no return.

End part 1.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From here ends the first part of my story. Please write me your opinion on the first part of the story. I would be very happy to read from you :-)


End file.
